( 




* 0 , 
.0< 



DANIEL AND THE 

REVELATION. 



. . . THE . . . 



Response of History to the Voice 
of Prophecy; 



A VERSE 
BY VERSE 



Stuby 



OF THESE 



IMPORTANT BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 



by Uriah Smith, 

Author of "Here and Hereafter," "Looking Unto Jesus," "The Marvel of 
Nations," "Synopsis of Present Truth," and other 
-works on Bible Subjects. 





2/ 



REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING COMPANY 
Battxe Creek, Michigan 

Chicago, III. Atlanta, Ga. 

1897 



5* b 




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897, 
By URIAH SMITH, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 

Also Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England. 



/ 




4fe 

1. With Enoch, the seventh from Adam, and for three hundred and 
eight years contemporary with Adam, the voice of prophecy began to be 
heard through human lips. For so the apostle Jude declares: "And 
Enoch, also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold 
the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment 
upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their 
ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard 
speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 14 : 15. 
This sublime and earliest prophecy reaches to the end of time. And 
through all the intervening ages, other prophecies have covered all the 
more important events in the great drama of history. 

2. The coming to pass of these great events has been but the response 
of history to what the prophecies had declared. And thus amid the 
ever-present evidences of the short-sightedness of men, and the ever-recur- 
ring failures of human schemes, a voice has continually gone up from 
earth to heaven, " The word of the Lord endureth forever." 

3. It is for the purpose of calling attention to some of these important 
prophetico-historical lessons, if we may be permitted to coin a word, that 
this volume is written. And. the books of Daniel and the Revelation are 
chosen for this purpose, because in some respects their prophecies are 
more direct than are to be found elsewhere upon the prophetic page, and 
the fulfilments more striking. The object before us is threefold : (1) To 
gain an understanding of the wonderful testimony of the books them- 
selves ; (2) To acquaint ourselves with some of the more interesting and 
important events in the history of civilized nations, and mark how ac- 
curately the prophecies, some of them depending upon the developments 
of the then far-distant future, and upon conditions the most minute and 
complicated, have been fulfilled in these events ; and (3) To draw from 
these things important lessons relative to practical Christian duties, 
which were not given for past ages merely, but are for the learning and 
admonition of the world to-day. 

4. The books of Daniel and the Revelation are counterparts of each 
other. They naturally stand side by side, and should be studied together. 

5. We are aware that any attempt to explain these books and make 
an application of their prophecies, is generally looked upon as a futile and 
fanatical task, and is sometimes met even with open hostility. It is much 
to be regretted that any portions of that volume which all Christians be- 

[3] 



4 



PREFACE. 



lieve to be the book wherein God has undertaken to reveal his will to 
mankind, should come to be regarded in such a light. But a great fact, 
to which the reader's attention is called in the following paragraph, is 
believed to contain for this state of things both an explanation and an 
antidote. 

6. There are two general systems of interpretation adopted by differ- 
ent expositors in their efforts to explain the sacred Scriptures. The first 
is the mystical or spiritualizing system invented by Origen, to the shame 
of sound criticism and the curse of Christendom ; the second is the sys- 
tem of literal interpretation, used by such men as Tyndale, Luther, and 
all the Reformers, and furnishing the basis for every advance step which 
has thus far been made in the reformation from error to truth as taught 
in the Scriptures. According to the first system, every declaration is sup- 
posed to have a mystical or hidden sense, which it is the province of the 
interpreter to bring forth ; by the second, every declaration is to be taken 
in its most obvious and literal sense, except where the context and the 
well-known laws of language show that the terms are figurative, and not 
literal ; and whatever is figurative must be explained by other portions 
of the Bible which are literal. 

7. By the mystical method of Origen, it is vain to hope for any uni- 
form understanding of either Daniel or the Revelation, or of any other book 
of the Bible ; for that system (if it can be called a system) knows no law 
but the uncurbed imagination of its adherents ; hence there are on its 
side as many different interpretations of Scripture as there are different 
fancies of different writers. By the literal method, everything is subject 
to well-established and clearly-defined law ; and, viewed from this stand- 
point, the reader will be surprised to see how simple, easy, and clear many 
portions of the Scriptures at once become, which, according to any other 
system, are dark and unsolvable. It is admitted that many figures are 
used in the Bible, and that much of the books under consideration, es- 
pecially that of the Revelation, is clothed in symbolic language ; but it is 
also claimed that the Scriptures introduce no figure which they do not 
somewhere furnish literal language to explain. This volume is offered as 
a consistent exposition of the books of Daniel and the Revelation accord- 
ing to the literal system. 

8. The study of prophecy should by no means be neglected ; for it is 
the prophetic portions of the word of God which especially constitute it a 
lamp to our feet and a light to our path. So both David and Peter une- 
quivocally testify. Ps. 119 : 105 ; 2 Peter 1 : 19. 

9. No sublimer study can occupy the mind than the study of those 
books in which He who sees the end from the beginning, looking forward 
through all the ages, gives, through his inspired prophets, a description of 
coming events for the benefit of those whose lot it would be to meet them. 

10. An increase of knowledge respecting the prophetic portions of the 
word of God was to be one of the characteristics of the last days. Said 
the angel to Daniel, " But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the 



PREFACE. 



5 



book, even to the time of the end : many shall run to and fro, and knowl- 
edge shall be increased;" or, as Michaelis's translation reads: "When 
many shall give their sedulous attention to the understanding of these things, 
and knowledge shall be increased." It is our lot to live this side the 
time to which the angel told Daniel to thus shut up the words and seal 
the book. That restriction has now expired by limitation. In the lan- 
guage of the figure, the seal has been removed, and many are running to 
and fro, and knowledge has marvelously increased in every department 
of science ; yet it is evident that this prophecy specially contemplates an 
increase of knowledge concerning those prophecies that are designed to 
give us light in reference to the age in which we live, the close of this 
dispensation, and the soon-coming transfer of all earthly governments to 
the great King of Righteousness, who shall destroy his enemies, and crown 
with an infinite reward every one of his friends. The fulfilment of the 
prophecy in the increase of this knowledge, is one of the pleasing signs of 
the present time. For more than half a century, light upon the prophetic 
word has been increasing, and shining with ever-growing luster to our 
own day. 

11. In no portion of the word of God is this more apparent than in 
the books of Daniel and the Revelation ; and we may well congratulate 
ourselves on this, for no other parts of that word deal so largely in prophe- 
cies that pertain to the closing scenes of this world's history. No other 
books contain so many chains of prophecy reaching down to the end. In 
no other books is the grand procession of events that leads us through to 
the termination of probationary time, and ushers 'us into the realities of 
the eternal state, so fully and minutely set forth. No other books em- 
brace so completely, as it were in one grand sweep, all the truths that 
concern the last generation of the inhabitants of the earth, and set forth 
so comprehensively all the aspects of the times, physical, moral, and po- 
litical, in which the triumphs of earthly woe and wickedness shall end, 
and the eternal reign of righteousness begin. We take pleasure in calling 
attention especially to these features of the books of Daniel and the Reve- 
lation, which seem heretofore to have been too generally overlooked or 
misinterpreted. 

12. There seems to be no prophecy which a person can have so little 
excuse for misunderstanding as the prophecy of Daniel, especially as re- 
lates to its main features. Dealing but sparingly in language that is 
highly figurative, explaining all the symbols it introduces, locating its 
events within the rigid confines of prophetic periods, it points out the 
first advent of the Messiah in so clear and unmistakable a manner as to 
call forth the execration of the Jews upon any attempt to explain it, and 
gives so accurately, and so many ages in advance, the outlines of the great 
events of our world's history, that infidelity stands confounded and dumb 
before its inspired record. 

13. And no effort to arrive at a correct understanding of the book of 
the Revelation needs any apology ; for the Lord of the prophecy has him- 



(i 



PREFACE. 



self pronounced a blessing upon him that readeth and they that hear the 
words of this prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein ; for 
the time is at hand. Rev. 1 : 1-3. And it is with an honest purpose of 
aiding somewhat in arriving at this understanding, which is set forth by 
the language above referred to as not only possible but praiseworthy, that 
an exposition of this book, according to the literal rule of interpretation, 
has been attempted. 

14. With thrilling interest we behold to-day the nations marshaling 
their forces, and pressing forward in the very movements described 
by the royal seer in the court of Babylon twenty-five hundred years 
ago, and by John on Patmos eighteen hundred years ago ; and these 
movements — hear it, ye children of men — are the last political 
revolutions to be accomplished before this earth plunges into her final 
time of trouble, and Michael, the great Prince, stands up, and his people, 
all who are found written in the book, are crowned with full and final 
deliverance. Dan. 12 : 1, 2. 

15. Are these things so ? "Seek," sa3 r s our Saviour, "and ye shall 
find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." God has not so concealed 
his truth that it will elude the search of the humble seeker. 

With a prayer that the same Spirit by which those portions of Scrip- 
ture which form the basis of this volume were at first inspired, and whose 
aid the writer has sought in his expository efforts, may rest abundantly upon 
the reader in his investigations, according to the promise of the Saviour 
in John 16 : 7, 13, 15, this work is commended to the candid and careful 
attention of all who are interested in prophetic themes. U. S. 

Battle Creek, Mich., ) 
January, 1891 . f 




CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Daniel in Captivity . . . . . . . 24 

Characteristics of the Sacred Writings — Five Historical Facts — 
Prophecy of Jerusalem's Captivity — The Holy City Three Times 
Overthrown — God's Testimony against Sin — Condition and 
Treatment of Daniel and his Companions — Character of King 
Nebuchadnezzar — Signification of Pagan Names — Daniel's In- 
tegrity — The Result of his Experiment — Daniel Lives till the 
Time of Cyrus. 

CHAPTER II. 

The Great Image ........ 32 

A Difficulty Explained — Daniel Enters upon his Work — Who 
were the Magicians — Trouble between the King and the Wise Men 
— The Ingenuity of the Magicians — The King's Sentence against 
Them — Remarkable Providence of God — The Help Sought by 
Daniel — A Good Example — Daniel's Magnanimity — A Natural 
Character — The Magicians Exposed — What the World Owes to 
the People of God — Appropriateness of the Symbol — A Sublime 
Chapter of Human History — Beginning of the Babylonian King- 
dom—What is Meant by a Universal Kingdom — Description of 
Babylon — The Heavenly City — Babylon's Fall — Stratagem of 
Cyrus — Belshazzar's Impious Feast — Prophecy Fulfilled — Baby- 
lon Reduced to Heaps — The Second Kingdom, Medo-Persia — 
Persian Kings, and Time of their Reign — Persia's Last King — 
Alexander the Great — His Contemptible Character — The Fourth 
Kingdom — The Testimony of Gibbon — Influences which Under- 
mined Rome — A False Theory Examined — What the Toes Sig- 
nify — Rome Divided — Names of the Ten Divisions — Subsequent 
History — God's Kingdom Still Future — Its Nature, Location, 
and Extent. 

[7] 



8 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 

The Fiery Ordeal . , . . 78 

Nebuchadnezzar's Image vs. God's — Devotion of Idolaters — The 
Jews Accused — The King's Forbearance — The Fiery Furnace — 
Its Effect on the Chaldeans — The Course of the Three Wor- 
thies — The Wonderful Deliverance — Its Effect on the King's 
Mind — Integrity Honored. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Nebuchadnezzar's Decree . . . . . ' 85 

The Oldest Decree on Record — Humiliation Confessed — -A Good 
Example — Nebuchadnezzar's Condition — -God's Dealing with 
the King — The Magicians Humbled — A Remarkable Illustra- 
tion — Mercy in Judgment — An Important Key to Prophetic In- 
terpretation — Angels Interested in Human Affairs — The King's 
Acknowledgment — Daniel's Hesitation — His Delicate Answer 
to the King — Judgments Conditional — -The Lesson Unheeded — 
The Blow Falls — The King's Restoration — The End Gained — 
Nebuchadnezzar's Death — Summary of his Experience. 

CHAPTER V. 

Belshazzar's Feast ........ 94 

Closing Scene of Babylon's History — Celebration'of the Conquest 
of Judea — The Sacred Vessels Desecrated — God Interferes with 
the Revelry — The Phantom Hand — Change of Scene — Daniel 
Called — The Lesson to the King — The Writing Interpreted — 
The Fulfilment Follows — Edwin Arnold's Prize Poem. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Daniel in the Lions' Den . .... 106 

Date of the Persian Kingdom — Cyrus Sole Ruler — Paul's Refer- 
ence to Daniel's Experience — Extent of the Persian Kingdom — 
A Fiendish Plot — Righteousness Daniel's only Fault — False Wit- 
ness of the Conspirators — Daniel Undisturbed — The Decree Se- 
cured — The Victim Ensnared — The King's Dilemma — Daniel 
Cast into the Lions' Den — His Wonderful Preservation — Fate of 
Daniel's Accusers — Daniel Doubly Vindicated — The King's 
Decree. 



CONTENTS. 



9 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Four Beasts 113 

Chronological Connection — Rule of Scripture Interpretation — 
Signification of the Symbols — The Kingdoms Identical with 
those of Daniel 2 — Why the Vision is Repeated — Change in 
Babylonish History — Deterioration of Earthly Governments — 
The Symbol of the Bear Explained — Grecia the Third Kingdom — 
Rapidity of its Conquests — Testimony of Rollin — Signification 
of the Four Heads of the Leopard Beast — The Nondescript — 
Signification of the Ten Horns — A Little Horn among the Ten — 
The Judgment Scene — A Temporal Millennium Impossible — 
Character of the Little Horn — Gradual Development of the Ro- 
mish Church — Opposition of the Arians — The Three Horns 
Plucked Up — Millions of Martyrs — A Feeble Defense — Pagan- 
ism Outdone — Meaning of Time, Times, and a Half — Date of 
Papal Supremacy — Date of Papal Overthrow — Rome a Repub- 
lic — The Power of the Papacy Waning in Its Stronghold — A 
Later Judgment — The Ecumenical Council — Victor Emmanuel's 
United Italy — End of the Pope's Temporal Power — Its Coming 
Destruction. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Ram, He-Goat, and Little Horn .... 145 

Change from Chaldaic to Hebrew — Date of Belshazzar's Reign — 
Date of this Vision — Where was Shushan ? — A Prophecy of 
Isaiah Fulfilled — The Angel Explains the Symbols— How the 
Goat Represents the Grecians — Alexander the Great — Battle at 
the River Granicus — Battle at the Passes of Issus — The Great 
Battle of Arbela — Subversion of the Persian Kingdom, b. c. 331 — 
Alexander's Famous Reply to Darius — The World Will not Per- 
mit Two Suns nor Two Sovereigns — Increase of Power — Alexan- 
der's Disgraceful Death — Division of the Kingdom — The Roman 
Horn — How it Came out of Ome of the Horns of the Goat — Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes not this Horn — Rome the Power Symbolized 
by the Little Horn — What is the ' ' Daily" — Two Desolating Powers 
Brought to View — When Oppression of the Saints Will End — 
The 2300 Days not here Explained — The Sanctuary Explained — 
What the Cleansing of the Sanctuary Is — The King of Fierce 
Countenance — By What Means the Romans Prospered — The 
Explanation not Finished — The Reason Why. 



10 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Seventy Weeks .183 

The Short Time between the Visions — Daniel's Understanding 
of Jeremiah's Prophecy — Daniel's Wonderful Prayer — Gabriel 
again Appears — Vision of Chapter 8 Explained — Connection 
between Chapters Eight and Nine Established — The Time Ex- 
plained — The Seventy Weeks — The Meaning of ' ' Cut Off " — Tes- 
timony of Dr. Hales — Date of the Seventy Weeks — The Decree 
of Cyrus — The Decree of Darius — The Decree of Artaxerxes — 
The Year 457 before Christ — Date of Christ's Baptism — Date of 
Christ's Crucifixion — Invention of the Christian Era — Interme- 
diate Dates — Harmony Established — The Genuine Reading — 
Ptolemy's Canon — The End of the 2300 Days. 

CHAPTER X. 

Daniel's Last Vision 213 

Time of Daniel's Various Visions — How Cyrus Became Sole Mon- 
arch — Daniel's Purpose in Seeking God — Scriptural Fasting — 
Another Appearance of the Angel Gabriel — The Effect upon 
Daniel — Daniel's Age at this Time — The Answer to Prayer 
Sometimes not Immediately Apparent — Who Michael Is — 
Daniel's Solicitude for his People — The Relation of Christ and 
Gabriel to the King of Persia and the Prophet Daniel. 

CHAPTER XI. 

A Literal Prophecy 222 

Succession of Kings in Persia — The Rich King — The Largest 
Army ever Assembled in the World — Meaning of the Phrase 
"Stand Up" — Alexander in Eclipse — His Kingdom Divided 
among his Four Leading Generals — Location of the King of the 
North and the King of the South — Macedon and Thrace Annexed 
to Syria — The Syrian Kingdom Stronger than the Kingdom of 
Egypt — Divorce and Marriage of Antiochus Theos — Laodice's 
Revenge — Berenice and her Attendants Murdered — Ptolemy 
Euergetes Avenges the Death of his Sister — Syria Plundered — 
2500 Idols Carried to Egypt — Antiochus Magnus Avenges the 
Cause of his Father — Defeated by the Egyptians — Ptolemy 
Overcome by his Vices — Another Syrian Campaign against 
Egypt — New Complications — Rome Introduced — Syria and 
Macedonia Forced to Retire — Rome Assumes the Guardianship 
of the Egyptian King — The Egyptians Defeated — Antiochus 
Falls before the Romans — Syria Made a Roman Province — Ju- 



CONTENTS. 



11 



dea Conquered by Pompey — Caesar in Egypt — Exciting Scenes — 
Cleopatra's Stratagem — Caesar Triumphant — Veni, Vidi, Vici — 
Caesar's Death — Augustus Caesar — The Triumvirate — The Au- 
gustan Age of Rome — The Birth of our Lord — Tiberius, the Vile 

— Date of Christ's Baptism — Rome's League with the Jews — 
Caesar and Antony — The Battle of Actium — Final Overthrow of 
Jerusalem — What is Meant by Chittim — The Vandal War — 
The " Daily" Taken Away — Justinian's Famous Decree — The 
Goths Driven from Rome — Long Triumph of the Papacy — The 
Atheistical King— The French Revolution of 1793 — The Bishop 
of Paris Declares himself an Atheist — France as a Nation Rebels 
against the Author of the Universe — The Marriage Covenant 
Annulled — -God Declared a Phantom, Christ an Impostor — Blas- 
phemy of a Priest of Illuminism — A Dissolute Female the God- 
dess of Reason — Titles of the Nobility Abolished — Their Estates 
Confiscated — The Land Divided for Gain — Termination of the 
Reign of Terror — Time of the End, 1798 — Triple "War between 
Egpyt, France, and Turkey — Napoleon's Dream of Eastern Glory 

— He Diverts the War from England to Egypt — His Ambition 
Embraces all Historical Lands of the East — Downfall of the Pa- 
pacy — Embarkation from Toulon — Alexandria Taken — Battle 
of the Pyramids — The Combat Deepens — Turkey, the King of 
the North, Declares War against France — Napoleon's Campaign 
in the Holy Land — Beaten at Acre — Retires to Egypt — Called 
back to France — Egypt in the Power of Turkey — Tidings out of 
the East and North — The Crimean War of 1853 — Predicted by 
Dr. Clarke from this Prophecy in 1825 — The Sick Man of the East 

— The Eastern Question ; What is It ? — Russia"s Long-Cherished 
Dream — The Last Will and Testament of Peter the Great — 
Startling Facts in Russian History — The Prophecy of Napoleon 
Bonaparte — Kossuth's Prediction — Russia's Defiant Attitude in 
1870 — The Russo-Turkish War of 1877 — The Berlin Congress — 
Turkey Bankrupt — The Whole Empire Mortgaged to the Czar — 
Wonderful Shrinkage of Turkish Territory — The Wonder of 
Statesmen — The Eastern Question in the Future. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Closing Scenes •. . . . . . 293 

The Reign of Christ — The Grand Signal of its Approach — What 
Events are Next in Order — The Time of Trouble — The Resur- 
rection — The Key to the Future — Some to Life, Some to Shame 

— Promised Rewards of the Coming Day — The Sealed Book 
Opened — Knowledge Wonderfully Increased — The Progress of a 
Thousand Years Made in Fifty — The Wise Understand — Daniel 
Stands in his Lot. 



12 



CONTENTS 



THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION. 

CHAPTER I. 

Introductory Vision ....... 323 

The Title and Character of the Book — Its Object — Christ's 
Angel — His Benediction — The Churches in Asia — The Seven 
Spirits — Prince of the Kings of the Earth — His Coming Visible 

— The Church's Response — John's Experience — The Cause of 
Banishment — In the Spirit — The Lord's Day — Alpha and 
Omega — The Revelation to be Understood. 

CHAPTER II. 

The Seven Churches . . . . . . . 345 

The Church of Ephesus— Definition — The Cause of Complaint 

— The Nicolaitanes — The Promise to the Victor— The Tree of 
Life — The Church in Smyrna — Tribulation Ten Days — The 
Overcomer's Reward — The Church in Pergamos — Satan's Seat 

— Antipas — The Cause of Censure — The Promise — The New 
Name — Thyatira — The Woman Jezebel. 

CHAPTER III. 

The Seven Churches. — Continued . . . . 363 

Sardis, Definition of — White Raiment — The Book of Life — 
Philadelphia Defined — The Key of David — Signification of 
Laodicea — Neither Cold nor Hot — The Counsel — The Final 
Promise. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Heavenly Sanctuary . . . . . 384 

Four and Twenty Elders — Seven Lamps of Fire — The Sea of 
Glass — The Happy Unrest. 

CHAPTER V. 

The Heavenly Sanctuary. — Continued .... 391 

The Book — The Angelic Challenge — Christ Prevails — The An- 
ticipation — A Clean Universe. 



CONTENTS. 



13 



CHAPTER VI. 



The Seven Seals 



402 



Symbols Explained — Souls under the Altar — The Great Earth- 
quake at Lisbon — Darkening of the Sun and Moon — Falling of 
the Stars — An Objection Answered — The Great Prayer-Meeting. 



Sealing of the 144,000 435 

Symbols Explained — The Seal of God — The 144,000 — The True 
Israel — The New Jerusalem a Christian City — Out of the Great 
Tribulation 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Seven Trumpets . . . . . . . 452 

Encouragement for Christians — Complement of Daniel's Proph- 
ecy — Testimony of Standard Historians — Rome Divided — The 
Western Empire Extinguished — Alaric, Genseric, Attila, and 
Theodoric. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Seven Trumpets. — Continued ..... 469 



Rome and Persia — Chosroes Overthrown — The Rise of Moham- 
medanism — The Bottomless Pit — The Five Months' Torment — 
An Established Date — Surrender to the Turks — Constantinople 
Taken — The Use of Firearms Foretold — Cessation of the Otto- 
man Supremacy — A Remarkable Prophecy Fulfilled. 



The Book Opened — The Time of the End — Close of the Pro- 
phetic Periods — Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet — The Sweet 
and the Bitter. 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Two Witnesses 497 

An Important Message — The French Revolution of 1793 — Spir- 
itual Sodom — Crush the Wretch! — The Bible Triumphant — 
The Nations Angry — God's Temple in Heaven Opened. 



CHAPTER VII. 



CHAPTER X. 



Proclamation of the Advent 



488 



14 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Gospel Church 509 

A Wonderful Scene in Heaven — Definite Data — Satan Defeated 
The Trial of the Church — The Coming Joy. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Persecuting Powers Professedly Christian . . .520 

A Change of Symbols — The Papac}' — Comparison with the Lit- 
tle Horn of Daniel 7 — Deadly Wound — How it was Healed — 
Another Beast — The United States in Prophecy — Wonderful 
Growth of our Country — "A Place for Everything, and Every- 
thing in its Place "— The Coming Crisis — The Path of Safety — 
The Beginning of the End — The Number of his Name. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Three Messages .... . . 582 

A Glorious Culmination — The 144.000 — The Proclamation of the 
Advent — A Moral Fall — The Severest Denunciation of Wrath 
in all the Bible — The Commandments of God — A Blessing on the 
Dead — Wickedness Swallowed Up. 

CHAPTER XV. 

The Seven Last Plagues . . . . . . . 638 

Preparation for the Plagues — An Impressive Scene — God's Judg- 
ments Righteous — Mercy Withdrawn from the Earth — The Sea 
of Glass — The Glorious Victory — Well with the Righteous. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Plagues Poured Out . . . . . 641 

The Plagues of Egypt — Death in the Sea — Fountains of Blood — 
A Scorching Sun — Egyptian Darkness — Decay of Turkey — The 
Eastern Question — Spirits of Devils — The Battle of Armaged- 
don — The Air Infected — Babylon Judged — Terrific Effects of 
the Great Hail — Close of the Scene. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Babylon — the Mother . . . . . . . 657 

Church and State — Different Forms of Roman Government — 
The Eighth Head — Waning away of Papal Power — Symbolic 
Waters. 



CONTENTS. 



15 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Babylon — the Daughters . . . . . 663 

Popery beyond Reformation — Its Influence still Felt — Apostate 
Christendom — Separation between the Good and the Bad — Ama- 
zing Judgments — The Will for the Deed. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Triumph of the Saints . . . • . . . . 680 

The Marriage of the Lamb — The Bride the Lamb's Wife — The 
Marriage Supper — Heaven Opened — A Startling Contrast — The 
Beast Taken — The Lake of Fire. 

CHAPTER XX. 

The First and Second Resurrections .... 687 

The Bottomless Pit — Binding of Satan — Exaltation of the 
Saints — The Second Resurrection — The Second Lake of Fire — 
The Sentence Executed. 

CHAPTER XXL 
The New Jerusalem . . . . . .702 

The New Heaven and Earth — The Holy City — Wonderful Di- 
mensions — Precious Stones — The Rainbow Foundations — No 
Need of the Sun. 

CHAPTER XXII. 
The Tree and the River of Life . . . . . 716 

The Home of Peace — The Tree of Life — John's Emotions — 
Without the City — The Gracious Invitation — " Through the 
Gates" — The Lord's Promise — The Church's Response — God 



All in All. 

Appendix . . . . . . . . . 729 

Index of Authors ........ 745 

Index of Texts • 748 

General Index . . ... . . . 752 




Page. 

Portrait of Author , Frontispiece. 

The Great World-Kingdom Image, Dan. 2 : 34, 38 . 41 
Babylon Taken by Cyrus ..... 50 
Alexander Removing the Ruins at Babylon . . 52 
Alexander Commanding the Conflagration of Persepolis. 56 
Map of The Four Kingdoms {In Four Colors) . 65 
The Three Hebrews Refusing to Bow to Nebuchadnezzar's 

Image 78 

The Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace . .81 

The Humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar .... 89 

Daniel Interpreting the Writing on the Wall . . 97 
Daniel in the Liqns' Den . . . - . . . 109 
The Lion — Symbol of Babylon . . . .113 

The Bear — Symbol of Medo-Persia . . . .115 

The Leopard — Symbol of Grecia . . . . .116 

The Fourth Beast — Symbol of Rome . . . . 117 

The Little Horn — Symbol of the Papacy . . .118 
Prominent Martyrs . . . . . . . 138 

The Ram — Symbol of Medo-Persia .... 146 

The He-Goat — Symbol of Grecia. .... 147 

The Little Horn of Daniel VIII . . . . .151 

The Temple at Jerusalem in the Time of Christ . 165 
The Angel Gabriel again Visiting the Prophet Daniel 187 
Diagram of the 70 AVeeks and 2300 Days . .. 191 

The Battle of Actium, Fulfilling Dan. 11:25 . . 247 



Storming of the Bastile, in the French Revolution 268 
[16] 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



17 



The Goddess of Reason 270 

Peter the Great ....... 285 

Map Illustrating the Eastern Question (In Four Colors) 289 
Increase of Knowledge, Plate I . . . .307 

Increase of Knowledge, Plate II ... 308 
John Writing the Revelation . . . . .321 

The Isle of Patmos . . . . . .. . 336 

Meteoric Shower, or Falling Stars of Nov. 13, 1833 . 422 

The Vandals Invading Africa ..... 459 

Attila. King of the Huns 462 

Woe, Woe, Woe, to the Inhabiters of the Earth ! . 469 

Mohammed and Mohammed II . . . . . 473 

Saracenic Warrior . . . . . . . 476 

Turkish Warrior . . . . . . . . 482 

The Angel on Sea and Land . . . . 488 

The Gospel Church . . . . . . 509 



The Dragon — Pagan Rome: The Leopard Beast — Papal 

Rome .......... 512 

The Reformers Preaching the Gospel . . . .516 

Eminent Reformers . . . . . . . 518 

The Two-Horned Beast — Protestant America . . 527 

Map Showing Territorial Growth of the United States 537 
The Everlasting Gospel . . . . . .585 

The Three Messages of Revelation 14 619 

The Seven Angels Pouring Out the Seven Last Plagues 644 

The Great Earthquake . 652 

The Message of Rev. 18:1 663 

Babylon Falls, like a Millstone Thrown into the Sea 678 

The Angel Showing John the Holy City . . . 706 

Colors in the Foundation of the New Jerusalem . 712 

The Banyan Tree, Illustrating the Tree of Life . 718 
2 



in tire 




SSfijp HAT the book of Daniel was written by the person whose 
ym* name it bears, there is no reason to doubt. Ezekiel, who 
A was contemporary with Daniel, bears testimony, through 
the spirit of prophecy, to his piety and uprightness, ranking 
him in this respect with Noah and Job : " Or if I send a pesti- 
lence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to 
cut off from it man and beast; though Noah, Daniel, and Job 
were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver 
neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls 
by their righteousness." Eze. 14 : 19, 20. His wisdom also, 
even at that early day, had become proverbial, as appears from 
the same writer. To the prince of Tyrus he was directed of 
the Lord to say, "Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel ; there is 
no secret that they can hide from thee." Eze. 28:3. But 
above all, our Lord recognized him as a prophet of God, and 
bade his disciples understand the predictions given through 
him for the benefit of his church: "When ye therefore shall 
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the 
prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him under- 
stand), then let them which be in Judea flee into the moun- 
tains." Matt. 24 : 15, 16. 

Though we have a more minute account of his early life 
than is recorded of that of any other prophet, yet his birth and 
lineage are left in complete obscurity, except that he was of the 

[21] 



22 



INTRODUCTION. 



royal line, probably of the house of David, which had at this 
time become very numerous. He first appears as one of the 
noble captives of Judah, in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, 
king of Babylon, at the commencement of the seventy years' 
captivity, b. c. 606. Jeremiah and Habakkuk were yet utter- 
ing their prophecies. Ezekiel commenced soon after, and a 
little later, Obadiah; but both these finished their work years 
before the close of the long and brilliant career of Daniel. 
Three prophets only succeeded him, Haggai and Zechariah, who 
exercised the prophetic office for a brief period contemporane- 
ously, b. c. 520-518, and Malachi, the last of the Old-Testa- 
ment prophets, who flourished a little season about b. c. 397. 

During the seventy years' captivity of the Jews, b. c. 606- 
536, predicted by Jeremiah (Jer. 25 : 11), Daniel resided at 
the court of Babylon, most of the time prime minister of that 
' brilliant monarchy. His life affords a most impressive lesson 
of the importance and advantage of maintaining from earliest 
youth strict integrity toward God, and furnishes a notable in- 
stance of a man' s maintaining eminent piety, and faithfully dis- 
charging all the duties that pertain to the service of God, while 
at the same time engaging in the most stirring activities, and 
bearing the weightiest cares and responsibilities that can de- 
volve upon men in this earthly life. 

What a rebuke is his course to many at the present day, 
who, having not a hundredth part of the cares to absorb their 
time and engross their attention that he had, yet plead as an 
excuse for their almost utter neglect of Christian duties, that 
they have no time for them. What will the God of Daniel say 
to such, when he comes to reward his servants impartially, ac- 
cording to their improvement or neglect of the opportunities 
offered them % 

But it is not alone nor chiefly his connection with the Chal- 
dean monarchy, the glory of kingdoms, that perpetuates the 
memory of Daniel, and covers his name with honor. From 
the hight of its glory he saw that kingdom decline, and pass 
into other hands. Its period of greatest prosperity was em- 
braced within the limits of the lifetime of one man. So brief 



INTRODUCTION. 



23 



was its supremacy, so transient its glory. But Daniel was in- 
trusted with more enduring honors. While beloved and hon- 
ored by the princes and potentates of Babylon, he enjoyed an 
infinitely higher exaltation, in being beloved and honored by 
God and his holy angels, and admitted to a knowledge of the 
counsels of the Most High. 

His prophecy is, in many respects, the most remarkable of 
any in the sacred record. It is the most comprehensive. It 
was the first prophecy giving a consecutive history of the world 
from that time to the end. It located the most of its predictions 
within well-defined prophetic periods, though reaching many 
centuries into the future. It gave the first definite chronolog- 
ical prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. It marked the time 
of this event so definitely that the Jews forbid any attempt to 
interpret its numbers, since that prophecy shows them to be 
without excuse in rejecting Christ; and so accurately had its 
minute and literal predictions been fulfilled down to the time 
of Porphyry, a. d. 250, that he declared (the only loophole he 
could devise for his hard-pressed skepticism) that the predic- 
tions were not written in the age of Babylon, but after the 
events themselves had transpired. This shift, however, is not 
now available; for every succeeding century has borne addi- 
tional evidence to the truthfulness of the prophecy, and we are 
just now, in our own day, approaching the climax of its fulfil- 
ment. 

The personal history of Daniel reaches to a date a few 
years subsequent to the subversion of the Babylonian kingdom 
by the Medes and Persians. He is supposed to have died at 
Shushan, or Susa, in Persia, about the year b. c. 530, aged 
nearly ninety-four years; his age being the probable reason 
why he returned not to Judea with other Hebrew captives, 
under the proclamation of Cyrus (Ezra 1 : 1), b. c. 536, which 
marked the close of the seventy years' captivity. 





Verse 1. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah 
came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 
2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part 
of the vessels of the house of God : which he carried into the land of 
Shinar to the house of his god ; and he brought the vessels into the 
treasure-house of his god. 

ITH a directness characteristic of the sacred writers, 
Daniel enters at once upon his subject. He com- 
mences in the simple, historical style, his book, with 
the exception of a portion of chapter 2, being of a historical 
nature, till we reach the seventh chapter, when the prophetical 
portion, more properly so called, commences. Like one con- 
scious of uttering only well-known truth, he proceeds at once 
to state a variety of particulars by which his accuracy could at 
once be tested. Thus, in the two verses quoted, he states five 
particulars purporting to be historical facts, such as no writer 
would be likely to introduce into a fictitious narrative : (1) That 
Jehoiakim was king of Judah; (2) That Nebuchadnezzar was 
king of Babylon; (3) That the latter came against the former; 

(4) That this was in the third year of Jehoiakim' s reign; and 

(5) That Jehoiakim was given into the hand of Nebuchadnez- 
zar, who took a portion of the sacred vessels of the house of 
God, and carrying them to the land of Shinar, the country 
of Babylon (Gen. 10 : 10), placed them in the treasure-house 
of his heathen divinity. Subsequent portions of the narrative 
abound as fully in historical facts of a like nature. 

[24] 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 1, 2. 



25 



This overthrow of Jerusalem was predicted by Jeremiah, 
and immediately accomplished, b. c. 606. Jer. 25 : 8-11. 
Jeremiah places this captivity in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, 
Daniel in the third. This seeming discrepancy is explained by 
the fact that Nebuchadnezzar set out on his expedition near 
the close of the third year of Jehoiakim, from which point 
Daniel reckons. But he did not accomplish the subjugation of 
Jerusalem till about the ninth month of the year following; 
and from this year Jeremiah reckons. (Prideaux, Yol. I, pp. 
99, 100.) Jehoiakim, though bound for the purpose of being 
taken to Babylon, having humbled himself, was permitted to 
remain as ruler in Jerusalem, tributary to the king of Babylon. 

This was the first time Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchad- 
nezzar. Twice subsequently, the city, having revolted, was 
captured by the same king, being more severely dealt with each 
succeeding time. Of these subsequent overthrows, the first was 
under Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, b. o. 599, when all the 
sacred vessels were either taken or destroyed, and the best of 
the inhabitants, with the king, were led into captivity. The 
second was under Zedekiah, when the city endured the most 
formidable siege it ever sustained, except that by Titus, in a. d. 
70. During the two years' continuance of this siege, the 
inhabitants of the city suffered all the horrors of extreme 
famine. At length, the garrison and king, attempting to 
escape from the city, were captured by the Chaldeans. The 
sons of the king were slain before his face. His eyes were put 
out, and he was taken to Babylon; and thus was fulfilled the 
prediction of Ezekiel, who declared that he should be carried 
to Babylon, and die there, but yet should not see the place. 
Eze. 12 : 13. The city and temple were at this time utterly 
destroyed, and the entire population of the city and country, 
with the exception of a few husbandmen, were carried captive 
to Babylon, b. c. 588. 

Such was God's passing testimony against sin. Not that 
the Chaldeans were the favorites of Heaven, but God made 
use of them to punish the iniquities of his people. Had the 
Israelites been faithful to God, and kept his Sabbath, Jerusalem 



26 



PROPHECY OF DAXIEL. 



would have stood forever. Jer. 17 : 24-27. But they departed 
from him, and he abandoned them. They first profaned the 
sacred vessels by sin, in introducing heathen idols among them; 
and he then profaned them by judgments, in letting them go 
as trophies into heathen temples abroad. 

During these days of trouble and distress upon Jerusalem, 
Daniel and his companions were nourished and instructed in 
the palace of the king of Babylon; and, though captives in a 
strange land, they were doubtless in some respects much more 
favorably situated than they could have been in their native 
country. 

Vekse 3. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his 
eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the 
king's seed, and of the princes ; 4. Children in whom was no blemish, 
but well-favored, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, 
and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in 
the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the 
tongue of the Chaldeans. 5. And the king appointed them a daily provi- 
sion of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank ; so nourishing 
them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before 
the king. 

We have in these verses the record of the probable fulfil- 
ment of the announcement of coming judgments made to King 
Hezekiah by the prophet Isaiah, more than a hundred years 
before. When this king had vaingloriously shown to the 
messengers of the king of Babylon all the treasures and holy 
things of his palace and kingdom, he was told that all these 
good things should be carried as trophies to the city of Babylon, 
and nothing should be left ; and that even his own children, his 
descendants, should be taken away, and be eunuchs in the 
palace of the king there. 2 Kings 20 : 14-18. It is probable 
that Daniel and his companions were treated as indicated in 
the prophecy; at least we hear nothing of their posterity, which 
can be more easily accounted for on this hypothesis than on any 
other; though some think that the term eunuch had come to 
signify office rather than condition. 

The word children, as applied to these captives, is not to be 
confined to the sense to which it is limited at the present time. 



CHAPTER I. VERSES 3-5. 



27 



It included youth also. And we learn from the record that 
these children were already skilful in all wisdom, cunning in 
knowledge, and understanding science, and had ability in them 
to stand in the king's palace. In other words, they had already 
acquired a good degree of education, and their physical and 
mental powers were so far developed that a skilful reader of 
human nature could form quite an accurate estimate of their 
capabilities. They are supposed to have been about eighteen 
or twenty years of age. 

In the treatment which these Hebrew captives received, we 
see an instance of the wise policy and the liberality of the ris- 
ing king, JMebuchadnezzar. 

1. Instead of choosing, like too many kings of later times, 
means for the gratification of low and base desires, he chose 
young men who should be educated in all matters pertaining to 
the kingdom, that he might have efficient help in administering 
its affairs. 

2. He appointed them daily provision of his own meat and 
wine. Instead of the coarse fare which some would have 
thought good enough for captives, he offered them his own royal 
viands. 

For the space of three years, they had all the advantages 
the kingdom afforded. Though captives, they were royal chil- 
dren, and they were treated as such by the humane king of the 
Chaldeans. 

The question may be raised, why these persons were selected 
after suitable preparation, to take part in the affairs of the 
kingdom. Were there not enough native Babylonians to fill 
these positions of trust and honor ? It could have been for no 
other reason than that the Chaldean youth could not compete 
with those of Israel in the qualifications, both mental and 
physical, necessary to such a position. 

Verse 6. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, 
Hananiah, Mishael. and Azariah : 7. Unto whom the prince of the eu- 
nuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar ; 
and to Hananiah, of Shadrach ; and to Mishael, of Meshach ; and to 
Azariah, of Abed-nego. 



28 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



This change of names was probably made on account of 
the signification of the words. Thus, Daniel signified, in the 
Hebrew, God is my judge ; Hananiah, gift of the Lord ; 
Mishael, he that is a strong God ; and Azariah, help of the 
Lord. These names each having some reference to the true 
God, and signifying some connection with his worship, were 
changed to names the definition of which bore a like relation to 
the heathen divinities and worship of the Chaldeans. Thus 
Belteshazzar, the name given to Daniel, signified keeper of the 
hid treasures of Bel; Shadrach, inspiration of the sun (which 
the Chaldeans worshiped); Meshach, of the goddess Shaca 
(under which name Yenus was worshiped); and Abed-nego, 
servant of the shining fire (which they also worshiped). 

Verse 8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile 
himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he 
drank ; therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he 
might not defile himself. 9. Now God had brought Daniel into favor 
and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. 10. And the prince of 
the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath 
appointed your meat and your drink ; for why should he see your faces 
worse liking than the children which are of your sort ? then shall ye 
make me endanger my head to the king. 11. Then said Daniel to 
Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, 
Mishael, and Azariah, 12. Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days ; 
and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 13. Then let our 
countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the 
children that eat of the portion of the king's meat ; and as thou seest, 
deal with thy servants. 14. So he consented to them in this matter, 
and proved them ten days. 15. And at the end of ten days their counte- 
nances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which 
did eat the portion of the king's meat. 16. Thus Melzar took away the 
portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink ; and gave 
them pulse. 

Nebuchadnezzar appears upon this record wonderfully free 
from bigotry. It seems that he took no means to compel his 
royal captives to change their religion. Provided they had some 
religion, he seemed to be satisfied, whether it was the religion 
he professed or not. And although their names had been 
changed to signify some connection with heathen worship, this 
may have been more to avoid the use of Jewish names by the 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 8-16. 



29 



Chaldeans than to indicate any change of sentiment or practice 
on the part of those to whom these names were given. 

Daniel purposed not to defile himself with the king's meat 
nor with his wine. Daniel had other reasons for this course 
than simply the effect of such a diet upon his physical system, 
though he would derive great advantage in this respect from 
the fare he proposed to adopt. But it was frequently the case 
that the meat used by the kings and princes of heathen nations, 
who were often the high priests of their religion, was first of- 
fered in sacrifice to idols, and the wine they used, poured out as 
a libation before them ; and again, some of the meat of which 
they made use, was pronounced unclean by the Jewish law; 
and on either of these grounds - Daniel could not, consistently 
with his religion, partake of these articles; hence he requested, 
not from any morose or sullen temper, but from conscientious 
scruples, that he might not be obliged to defile himself; and he 
respectfully made his request known to the proper officer. 
The prince of the eunuchs feared to grant Daniel's request, 
since the king himself had appointed their meat. This shows 
the great personal interest the king took in these persons. He 
did not commit them to the hands of his servants, telling them 
to care for them in the best manner, without himself entering 
into its details; but he himself appointed their meat and drink. 
And this was of a kind which it was honestly supposed would 
be best for them, inasmuch as the prince of the eunuchs thought 
that a departure from it would render them poorer in flesh and 
less ruddy of countenance than those who continued it; and 
thus he would be brought to account for neglect or ill-treatment 
of them, and so lose his head. Yet it was equally well under- 
stood that if they maintained good physical conditions, the 
king would take no exception to the means used, though it 
might be contrary to his own express direction. It appears 
that the king's sincere object was to secure in them, by what- 
ever means it could be done, the very best mental and physical 
development that could be attained. How different this from 
the bigotry and tyranny which usually hold supreme control 
over the hearts of those who are clothed with absolute power. 



30 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



In the character of Nebuchadnezzar we shall find many things 
worthy of our highest admiration. 

Daniel requested pulse and water for himself and his three 
companions. Pulse is a vegetable food of the leguminous kind, 
like peas, beans, etc. Bagster says, " Zeroim denotes all le- 
guminous plants, which are not reaped, but pulled or plucked, 
which, however wholesome, were not naturally calculated to 
render them fatter in flesh than the others.'' 

A ten days' trial of this diet resulting favorably, they were 
permitted to continue it during the whole course of their train- 
ing for the duties of the palace. Their increase in flesh and 
improvement in countenance which took place during these ten 
days, can hardly be attributed to the natural result of the diet; 
for it would hardly produce such marked effects in so short a 
time. Is it not much more natural to conclude that this re- 
sult was produced by a special interposition of the Lord, as a 
token of his approbation of the course on which they had 
entered, which course, if persevered in, would in process of 
time lead to the same result through the natural operation of 
the laws of their being ? 

Verse 17. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and 
skill in all learning and wisdom ; and Daniel had understanding in all 
visions and dreams. 18. Now at the end of the days that the king had 
said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought 
them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19. And the king communed with 
them ; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, 
Mishael, and Azariah ; therefore stood they before the king. 20. And in 
all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king required of them, 
he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers 
that were in all his realm. 21. And Daniel continued even unto the first 
year of king Cyrus. 

To Daniel alone seems to have been committed an under- 
standing in visions and dreams. But the Lord's dealing with 
Daniel in this respect does not prove the others any the less 
accepted in his sight. Preservation in the midst of the fiery 
furnace was as good evidence of the divine favor as they could 
have had. Daniel probably had some natural qualifications 
that peculiarly fitted him for this special work. 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 17-21. 



31 



The same personal interest in these individuals heretofore 
manifested by the king, he still continued to maintain. At the 
end of the three years, he called them to a personal interview. 
He must know for himself how they had fared, and what 
proficiency they had made. This interview also shows the 
king to have been a man well versed in all the arts and sciences 
of the Chaldeans, else he would not have been qualified to ex- 
amine others therein. As the result, recognizing merit wher- 
ever he saw it, without respect to religion or nationality, he 
acknowledged them to be ten times superior to any in his own 
land. 

And it is added that Daniel continued even unto the first 
year of King Cyrus. This is an instance of the somewhat 
singular use of the word unto, or until, which occasionally 
occurs in the sacred writings. It does not mean that he con- 
tinued no longer than to the first year of Cyrus, for he lived 
some years after the commencement of his reign; but this is 
the time to which the writer wished to direct especial attention, 
as it brought deliverance to the captive Jews. A similar use 
of the word is found in Ps. 112 : 8 and Matt. 5 : 18. 





Verse 1. And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, 
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and 
his sleep brake from him. 

ANIEL was carried into captivity in the first year of 
Nebuchadnezzar. For three years he was placed under 
instructors, during which time he would not, of course, 
be reckoned among the wise men of the kingdom, nor take part 
in public affairs. Yet in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar, 
the transactions recorded in this chapter took place. How, 
then, could Daniel be brought in to interpret the king's dream 
in his second year % The explanation lies in the fact that 
Nebuchadnezzar reigned for two years conjointly with his 
father, Nabopollassar. From this point the Jews reckoned, 
while the Chaldeans reckoned from the time he commenced to 
reign alone, on the death of his father. Hence, the year here 
mentioned was the second year of his reign according to the 
Chaldean reckoning, but the fourth according to the Jewish. 
It thus appears that the very next year after Daniel had com- 
pleted his preparation to participate in the affairs of the Chal- 
dean empire, the providence of God brought him into sudden 
and wonderful notoriety throughout all the kingdom. 

Verse 2. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the 
astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king 
his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 
[32] 




CHAPTER 2, VERSES 3, 4. 



83 



The magicians were such as practiced magic, using the 
term in its bad sense; that is, they practiced all the supersti- 
tious rites and ceremonies of fortune-tellers, casters of nativi- 
ties, etc. Astrologers were men who pretended to foretell 
future events by the study of the stars. The science, or the 
superstition, of astrology was extensively cultivated by the 
* Eastern nations of antiquity. Sorcerers were such as pretended 
to hold communication with the dead. In this sense, we believe, 
it is always used in the Scriptures. Modern Spiritualism is sim- 
ply ancient heathen sorcery revived. The Chaldeans here men- 
tioned were a sect of philosophers similar to the magicians and 
astrologers, who made physic, divinations, etc., their study. 
All these sects or professions abounded in Babylon. The end 
aimed at by each was the same; namely, the explaining of 
mysteries and the foretelling of future events, the principal 
difference between them being the means by which they sought 
to accomplish their object. The king's difficulty lay equally 
within the province of each to explain; hence he summoned 
them all. With the king it was an important matter. He was 
greatly troubled, and therefore concentrated upon the solution 
of his perplexity the whole wisdom of his realm. 

Verse 3. And the king said, unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and 
my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 4. Then spake the Chaldeans 
to the king in Syriack, O King, live forever ; tell thy servants the dream, 
and we will show the interpretation. 

Whatever else the ancient magicians and astrologers may 
have been deficient in, they seem to have been thoroughly 
schooled in the art of drawing out sufficient information to 
form a basis for some shrewd calculation, or of framing their 
answers in so ambiguous a manner that they would be equally 
applicable, let the event turn either way. In the present case, 
true to their cunning instincts, they called upon the king to 
make known to them his dream. If they could get full infor- 
mation respecting this, they could easily agree on some inter- 
pretation which would not endanger their reputation. They 
addressed themselves to the king in Syriac, a dialect of the 
Chaldean language which was used by the educated and cul- 

3 



34 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



tured classes. From this point to the end of chapter 7, the 
record continues in Chaldaic. 

Vebse 5. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is 
gone from me ; if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the 
interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be 
made a dunghill. 6. But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation 
thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor ; there- 
fore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. 7. They 
answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we 
will show the interpretation of it. 8. The king answered and said, I 
know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing 
is gone from me. 9. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, 
there is but one decree for you ; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt 
words to speak before me, till the time be changed ; therefore tell me the 
dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof. 
10. The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a 
man upon the earth that can show the king's matter ; therefore there is 
no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or 
astrologer, or Chaldean. 11. And it is a rare thing that the king requir- 
eth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the 
gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12. For this cause the king was 
angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of 
Babylon. 13. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be 
slain ; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. 

These verses contain the record of the desperate struggle 
between the wise men, so called, and the king ; the former 
seeking some avenue of escape, seeing they were caught on 
their own ground, and the latter determined that they should 
make known his dream, which was no more than their profes- 
sion would warrant him in demanding. Some have severely 
censured Nebuchadnezzar in this matter, as acting the part of a 
heartless, unreasonable tyrant. But what did these magicians 
profess to be able to do \ — To reveal hidden things ; to fore- 
tell future events; to make known mysteries entirely beyond 
human foresight and penetration; and to do this by the aid of 
supernatural agencies. If, then, their claim was worth any- 
thing, could they not make known to the king what he had 
dreamed ? — They certainly could. And if they were able, 
knowing the dream, to give a reliable interpretation thereof, 
would they not also be able to make known the dream itself 
when it had gone from the king ? — Certainly, if there was any 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 15-18. 



35 



virtue in their pretended intercourse with the other world. 
There was therefore nothing unjust in Nebuchadnezzar's de- 
mand that thej should make known his dream. And when they 
declared (verse 11) that none but the gods whose dwelling was 
not with flesh could make known the king's matter, it was a 
tacit acknowledgment that they had no communication with 
these gods, and knew nothing beyond what human wisdom and 
discernment could reveal. For this cause, the king was angry 
and very furious. He saw that he and all his people were 
being made the victims of deception. He accused them (verse 
9) of endeavoring to dally along till the "time be changed," 
or till the matter had so passed from his mind that his anger 
at their duplicity should abate, and he would either recall the 
dream himself, or be unsolicitous whether it were made known 
and interpreted or not. And while we cannot justify the 
extreme measures to which he resorted, dooming them to death, 
and their houses to destruction, we can but feel a hearty 
sympathy with him in his condemnation of a class of miserable 
impostors. The severity of his sentence was probably attribu- 
table more to the customs of those times than to any malignity 
on the part of the king. Yet it was a bold and desperate step. 
Consider who these were who thus incurred the wrath of the 
king. They were numerous, opulent, and influential sects. 
Moreover, they were the learned and cultivated classes of those 
times; yet the king was not so wedded to his false religion as 
to spare it even with all this influence in its favor. If the 
system was one of fraud and imposition, it must fall, however 
high its votaries might stand in numbers or position, or how- 
ever many of them might be involved in its ruin. The king 
would be no party to dishonesty or deception. 

Terse 14. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch 
the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise 
men of Babylon. 15. He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, 
Why is the decree so hasty from the king ? Then Arioch made the thing 
known to Daniel. 16. Then Daniel went in, .and desired of the king that 
he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpreta- 
tion. 17. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to 
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions ; 18. That they would 



36 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret ; that Daniel 
and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 

In this narrative we see the providence of God working in 
several remarkable particulars. 

1. It was providential that the dream of the king should 
leave such a powerful impression upon his mind as to raise 
him to the greatest height of anxiety, and yet the thing itself 
be held from his recollection. This led to the complete 
exposure of the false system of the magicians and other pagan 
teachers; for when put to the test to make known the dream, 
it was found that they were unable to do what then profession 
made it incumbent on them to do. 

2. It was remarkable that Daniel and his companions, so 
lately pronounced by the king ten times better than all his 
magicians and astrologers, should not sooner have been con- 

- suited, or, rather, should not have been consulted at all, in 
this matter. But there was a providence in this. Just as the 
dream was held from the king, so he was unaccountably held 
from appealing to Daniel for a solution of the mystery. For 
had he called on Daniel at first, and had he at once made 
known the matter, the magicians would not have been brought 
to the test. But God would give the heathen systems of the 
Chaldeans the first chance. He would let them try, and 
ignominiously fail, and confess their utter incompetency, even 
under the penalty of death, that they might be the better pre- 
pared to acknowledge his hand when he should finally reach it 
down in behalf of his captive servants, and for the honor of 
his own name. 

3. It appears that the first intimation Daniel had of the 
matter was the presence of the executioners, come for his 
arrest. His own life being thus at stake, he would be led to 
seek the Lord with all his heart till he should work for their 
deliverance. Daniel gains his request of the king for time to 
consider the matter, — a privilege which probably none of the 
magicians could have secured, as the king had already accused 
them of preparing lying and corrupt words, and of seeking to 
gain time for this very purpose. Daniel at once went to his 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 19-23. 



37 



three companions, and engaged them to unite with him in 
desiring mercy of the God of heaven concerning this secret. 
He could have prayed alone, and doubtless would have been 
heard; but then, as now, in the union of God's people there is 
prevailing power; and the promise of the accomplishment of 
that which is asked, is to the two or three who shall agree 
concerning it. Matt. 18 : 20. 

Terse 19. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night 
vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20. Daniel answered 
and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever ; for wisdom and 
might are his ; 21. And he changeth the times and the seasons ; he 
removeth kings, and setteth up kings ; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, 
and knowledge to them that know understanding, 22. He revealeth the 
deep and secret things ; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the 
light dwelleth with him. 23. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God 
of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made 
known unto me now what we desired of thee ; for thou hast now made 
known unto us the king's matter. 

Whether or not the answer came while Daniel and Iris 
companions were yet offering up their petitions, we are not 
informed. If it did, it shows their importunity in the matter; 
for it was through a night vision that God revealed himself in 
their behalf, which would show that they continued their 
supplications, as might reasonably be inferred, far into the 
night, and ceased not till the answer was obtained. Or, if 
their season of prayer had closed, and God at a subsequent 
time sent the answer, it would show us that, as is sometimes 
the case, prayers are not unavailing though not immediately 
answered. Some think the matter was made known to Daniel 
by his dreaming the same dream that Nebuchadnezzar had 
dreamed; but Matthew Henry considers it more -probable that 
1 ' when he was awake, and continuing instant in prayer, and 
watching in the same, the dream itself and the interpretation 
of it were communicated to him by the ministry of an angel, 
abundantly to his satisfaction. ' ' The words, ' ' night vision, ' ' 
mean anything that is seen, whether through dreams or visions. 

Daniel immediately offered up praise to God for his gracious 
dealing with them; and while his prayer is not preserved, his 



38 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



responsive thanksgiving is fully recorded. God is honored by 
our rendering him praise for the things he has done for us, as 
well as by our acknowledging through prayer our need of his 
help. Let Daniel's course be our example in this respect. Let 
no mercy from the hand of God fail of its due return of 
thanksgiving and praise. Were not ten lepers cleansed ? 
< ' But where, ' ' asks Christ sorrowfully, ' ' are the nine ? " Luke 
17:17. 

Daniel had the utmost confidence in what had been shown 
him. He did not first go to the king, to see if what had been 
revealed to him was indeed the king's dream ; but he immedi- 
ately praised God for having answered his prayer. 

Although the matter was revealed to Daniel, he did not 
take honor to himself as though it were by his prayers alone 
that this thing had been obtained, but immediately associated 
his companions with himself, and acknowledged it to be as 
much an answer to their prayers as to his own. It was, said 
he, "what we desired of thee," and thou hast made it "known 
unto us.^ 

Verse 24. Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king 
had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon ; he went and said 
thus unto him : Destroy not the wise men of Babylon ; bring me in 
before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation. 

Daniel's first plea is for the wise men of Babylon. Destroy 
them not, for the king's secret is revealed. True, it was 
through no merit of theirs or their heathen systems of divina- 
tion that this revelation was made; they were worthy of just 
as much condemnation as before. But their own confession of 
utter impotence in the matter was humiliation enough for 
them, and Daniel Was anxious that they should so far partake 
of the benefits shown to him as to have their own lives spared. 
Thus they were saved because there was a man of God among 
them. And thus it ever is. For the sake of Paul and Silas, 
all the prisoners with them were loosed. Acts 16 : 26. For 
the sake of Paul, the lives of all that sailed with him were 
saved. Chapter 27 : 24. Thus the wicked are benefited by 
the presence of the righteous. Well would it be if they would 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 24-28. 



39 



remember the obligations under which they are thus placed. 
What saves the world to-day ? For whose sake is it still 
spared? — For the sake of the few righteous persons who are 
yet left. Remove these, and how long would the wicked be 
suffered to run their guilty career ? — No longer than the ante- 
diluvians were suffered, after Noah had entered the ark, or the 
Sodomites, after Lot had departed from their polluted and 
polluting presence. If only ten righteous persons could have 
been found in Sodom, the multitude of its wicked inhabitants 
would, for their sakes, have been spared. Yet the wicked will 
despise, ridicule, and oppress the very ones on whose account 
it is that they are still permitted the enjoyment of life and all 
its blessings. 

Verse 25. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, 
and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, 
that will make known unto the king the interpretation. 

It is ever a characteristic of ministers and courtiers to 
ingratiate themselves with their sovereign. So here Arioch 
represented that he had found a man who could make known 
the desired interpretation; as though with great disinterested- 
ness, in behalf of the king, he had been searching for some one 
to solve his difficulty, and had at last found him. In order to 
see through this deception of his chief executioner, the king 
had but to remember, as he probably did, his interview with 
Daniel (verse 16), and Daniel's promise, if time could be 
granted, to show the interpretation thereof. 

Verse 26. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was 
Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I 
have seen, and the interpretation thereof ? 27. Daniel answered in the 
presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded 
cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, 
show unto the king; 28. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth 
secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in 
the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, 
are these. 

Art thou able to make known the dream ? was the king's 
doubtful salutation to Daniel, as he came into his presence. 
Notwithstanding his previous acquaintance with Daniel, the 



40 



PROPHECY OF DAXIEL. 



king seems to have questioned his ability, so young and inex- 
perienced, to make known a matter in which the aged and 
venerable magicians and soothsayers had utterly failed. Daniel 
declared plainly that the wise men, the astrologers, the sooth- 
sayers, and the magicians could not make known this secret. 
It was beyond their power. Therefore the king should not be 
angry with them, nor put confidence in their inefficient super- 
stitions. He then proceeds to make known the true God, who 
rules in heaven, and is the only revealer of secrets. And he it 
is, says Daniel, who maketh known to the king Nebuchad- 
nezzar what shall be in the latter days. 

Verse 29. As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind 
upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter ; and he that revealeth 
secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30. But as for 
me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more 
than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpre- 
tation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy 
heart. 

Here is brought out another of the commendable traits of 
Nebuchadnezzar's character. Unlike some rulers, who fill up 
the present with folly and debauchery without regard to the 
future, he thought forward upon the days to come, with an 
anxious desire to know with what events they should be filled. 
His object in this was, doubtless, that he might the better know 
how to make a wise improvement of the present. For this rea- 
son God gave him this dream, which we must regard as a token 
of the divine favor toward the king, as there were many other 
ways in which the truth involved in this matter could have 
been brought out, equally to the honor of God's name, and the 
good of his people both at that time and through subsequent 
generations. Yet God would not work for the king independ- 
ently of his own people; hence, though he gave the dream to 
the king, he sent the interpretation through one of his own 
acknowledged servants. Daniel first disclaimed all credit for 
himself in the transaction, and then to modify somewhat the 
feelings of pride which it would have been natural for the king 
to have, in view of being thus noticed by the God of heaven, 
he informed him indirectly, that, although the dream had been 



THE GREAT WORLD=KINGDOM IMAGE, DAN. 2:34, 38. 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 29-35. 



given to him, it was not for his sake altogether that the inter- 
pretation was sent, but for their sakes through whom it should 
fre made known. Ah! God had some servants there, and it 
was for them that he was working. They are of more value in 
his sight than the mightiest kings and potentates of earth. Had 
it not been for them, the king would never have had the inter- 
pretation of his dream, probably not even the dream itself. 
Thus, when traced to their source, all favors, upon whomsoever 
bestowed, are found to be due to the regard which God has for 
his own children. How comprehensive was the work of God 
in this instance. By this one act of revealing the king's dream 
to Daniel, he accomplished the following objects : (1) He made 
known to the king the things he desired; (2) He saved his 
servants who trusted in him ; (3) He brought conspicuously 
before the Chaldean nation the knowledge of the true God; (4) 
He poured contempt on the false systems of the soothsayers 
and magicians; and (5) He honored his own name, and ex- 
alted his servants in their eyes. 

Verse 31. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This 
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee ; and the 
form thereof was terrible. 32. This image's head was of fine gold, his 
breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33. His 
legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34. Thou sawest till 
that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his 
feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35. Then was 
the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces 
together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors ; 
and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them ; 
and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled 
the whole earth. 

Nebuchadnezzar, practicing the Chaldean religion, was an 
idolater. An image was an object which would at once com- 
mand his attention and respect. Moreover, earthly kingdoms, 
which, as we shall hereafter see, were represented by this 
image, were objects of esteem and value in his eyes. With 
a mind unenlightened by the light of revelation, he was unpre- 
pared to put a true estimate upon earthly wealth and glory, 
and to look upon earthly governments in their true light. 
Hence the striking harmony between the estimate which he 



4-2 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



put upon these things, and the object by which they were 
symbolized before him. To him, they were presented under 
the form of a great image, an object in his eyes of worth and 
admiration. With Daniel the case was far different. He was 
able to view in its true light all greatness and glory not built 
on the favor and approbation of God; and therefore to him 
these same earthly kingdoms were afterward shown (see chap- 
ter 7) under the form of cruel and ravenous wild beasts. 

But how admirably adapted was this representation to con- 
vey a great and needful truth to the mind of Nebuchadnezzar. 
Besides delineating the progress of events through the whole 
course of time for the benefit of his people, God would show 
Nebuchadnezzar the utter emptiness and worthlessness of 
earthly pomp and glory. And how could this be more im- 
pressively done than by an image commencing with the most 
precious of metals, and continually descending to the baser, 
till we finally have the coarsest and crudest of materials, — iron 
mingled with the miry clay, — the whole then dashed to pieces, 
and made like the empty chaff, no good thing in it, but alto- 
gether lighter than vanity, and finally blown away where no 
place could be found for it, after which something durable and 
of heavenly worth occupies its place ? So would God show 
to the children of men that earthly kingdoms were to pass 
away, and earthly greatness and glory, like a gaudy bubble, 
would break and vanish ; and the kingdom of God, in the 
place so long usurped by these, should be set up, to have no 
end, and all who had an interest therein should rest under the 
shadow of its peaceful wings forever and ever. But this is 
anticipating. 

Verse 36. This is the dream ; and we will tell the interpretation 
thereof before the king. 37. Thou, O king, art a king of kings ; for the 
God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 
38. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and 
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made 
thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 

Now opens one of the sublimest chapters of human history. 
Eight short verses of the inspired record tell the whole story \ 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 36-38. 43 

yet that story embraces the history of this world's pomp and 
power. A few moments will suffice to commit it to memory; 
yet the period which it covers, commencing more than twenty- 
five centuries ago, reaches on from that far-distant point past 
the rise and fall of kingdoms, past the setting up and over- 
throw of empires, past cycles and ages, past our own day, over 
into the eternal state. It is so comprehensive that it embraces 
all this; yet it is so minute that it gives us all the great out- 
lines of earthly kingdoms from that time to this. Human 
wisdom never devised so brief a record which embraced so 
much. Human language never set forth in so few words, so 
great a volume of historical truth. The finger of God is here. 
Let us heed the lesson well. . 

With what interest, as well as astonishment, must the king 
have listened, as he was informed by the prophet that he, or 
rather his kingdom, the king being here put for his kingdom 
(see the following verse), was the golden head of the magnifi- 
cent image which he had seen. Ancient kings were grateful 
for success ; and in cases of prosperity, the tutelar deity to 
whom they attributed their success, was the adorable object 
upon which they would lavish their richest treasures and be- 
stow their best devotions. Daniel indirectly informs the king 
that in his case all these are due to the God of heaven, since 
he is the one who has given him his kingdom, and made him 
ruler over all. This would restrain him from the pride of 
thinking that he had attained his position by his own power 
and wisdom, and would enlist the gratitude of his heart toward 
the true God. 

The kingdom of Babylon, which finally developed into the 
golden head of this great historic image, was founded by Nirn- 
rod, the great-grandson of Noah, over two thousand years 
before Christ. Gen. 10:8-10: "And Cush begat Nimrod ; 
he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty 
hunter before the Lord; wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, 
the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his 
kingdom was Babel [margin, Babylon], and Erech, and Accad, 
and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." It appears that Nimrod 



44 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



also founded the city of Nineveh, which afterward became the 
capital of Syria. (See marginal reading of Gen. 10 : 11, and 
Johnson's Cyclopedia, art. Syria.) The following sketch of 
the history of Babylon, from Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia, 
art. Babylon, is according to the latest authorities on this 
subject : — 

''About 1270 b. c.j the Assyrian kings became masters of 
Chaldea, or Babylonia, of which Babylon was the capital. This 
country was afterward ruled by an Assyrian dynasty of kings, 
who reigned at Babylon, and sometimes waged war against 
those who reigned in Assyria proper. At other times the 
kings of Babylon were tributary to those of Assyria. Several 
centuries elapsed in which the history of Babylon is almost a 
blank. In the time of Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, Nabonassar 
ascended the throne of Babylon in 747 b. c. He is celebrated 
for the chronological era which bears his name, and which 
began in 747 b. c. About 720 Merodach-baladan became king 
of Babylon, and sent ambassadors to Hezekiah, king of Ju- 
dah (see 2 Kings 20, and Isa. 39). A few years later, Sargon, 
king of Assyria, defeated and dethroned Merodach-baladan. 
Sennacherib completed the subjection of Babylon, which he 
annexed to the Assyrian empire about 690 b. c. The con- 
quest of Nineveh and the subversion of the Assyrian empire, 
which was effected about 625 b. o. r by Cyaxeres the Mede, 
and his ally Nabopolassar, the rebellious governor of Babylon, 
enabled the latter to found the Babylonian empire, which was 
the fourth of Rawlinson's ' Five Great Monarchies,' and in- 
cluded the valley of the Euphrates, Susiana, Syria, and Pal- 
estine. His reign lasted about twenty-one years, and was 
probably pacific, as the history of it is nearly a blank; but in 
605 b. c. his army defeated Neco, king of Egypt, who had 
invaded Syria. He was succeeded by his more famous son, 
Nebuchadnezzar (604 b. c), who was the greatest of the kings 
of Babylon." 

Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar in the first year 
of his reign, and third year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah 
(Dan. 1:1), b. c. 606. Nebuchadnezzar reigned two years 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 36-38. 45 

conjointly with his father, Nabopolassar. From this point the 
Jews computed his reign, but the Chaldeans from the date 
of his sole reign, 6Q4 b. c, as stated above. Respecting the 
successors of Nebuchadnezzar, the authority above quoted 
adds : — 

"He died in 561 b. c, and was succeeded by his son 
Evil-merodach who reigned only two years. Nabonadius (or 
Labynetus), who became king in 555 b. c, formed an alliance 
with Croesus against Cyrus the Great. He appears to have 
shared the royal power with his son, Belshazzar, whose mother 
was a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. Cyrus besieged Babylon, 
which he took by stratagem in 538 b. c, and with the death of 
Belshazzar, whom the Persians killed, the kingdom of Babylon 
ceased to exist." 

When we say that the image of Daniel 2 symbolizes the 
four great prophetic universal monarchies, and reckon Babylon 
as the first of these, it is asked how this can be true, when 
every country in the world was not absolutely under the 
dominion of any one of them. Thus Babylon never conquered 
Grecia or Rome; but Rome was founded before Babylon had 
risen to the zenith of its power. Rome's position and influ- 
ence, however, were then altogether prospective; and it is 
nothing against the prophecy, that God begins to prepare his 
agents long years before they enter upon the prominent part 
they are to perform in the fulfilment of prophecy. "We must 
place ourselves with the prophet, and view these kingdoms 
from the same standpoint. We shall then, as is right, con- 
sider his statements in the light of the location he occupied, 
the time in which he wrote, and the circumstances by which 
he was surrounded. It is a manifest rule of interpretation that 
we may look for nations to be noticed in prophecy when they 
become so far connected with the people of God that mention 
of them becomes necessary to make the records of sacred his- 
tory complete. When this was the case with Babylon, it was, 
from the standpoint of the prophet, the great and overtowering 
object in the political world. In his eye, it necessarily eclipsed 
all else; and he would naturally speak of it as a kingdom 



46 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



having rule over all the earth. So far as we know, all prov- 
inces or countries against which Babylon did move in the 
hight of its power, were subdued by its arms. In this sense, 
all were in its power; and this fact will explain the somewhat 
hyperbolical language of verse 38. That there were some 
portions of territory and considerable numbers of people un- 
known to history, and outside the pale of civilization as it then 
existed, which were neither discovered nor subdued, is not a 
fact of sufficient strength or importance to condemn the expres- 
sion of the prophet, or to falsify the prophecy. 

In 606 b. c. Babylon came in contact with the people of 
God, when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and led 
Juclah into captivity. It comes at this point, consequently, 
into the field of prophecy, at the end of the Jewish theocracy. 

The character of this empire is indicated by the nature of 
the material composing that portion of the image by which it 
was symbolized — the head of gold. It was the golden king- 
dom of a golden age. Babylon, its metropolis, towered to a 
hight never reached by any of its successors. Situated in 
the garden of the East ; laid out in a perfect square sixty 
miles in circumference, fifteen miles on each side; surrounded 
by a wall three hundred and fifty feet high and eighty-seven 
feet thick, with a moat, or ditch, around this, of equal cubic 
capacity with the wall itself ; divided into six hundred and 
seventy-six squares, each two and a quarter miles in circum- 
ference, by its] fifty streets, each one hundred and fifty feet in 
width, crossing each other at right angles, twenty-five running 
each way, every one of them straight and level and fifteen 
miles in length; its two hundred and twenty-five square miles 
of inclosed surface, divided as just described, laid out in 
luxuriant pleasure-grounds and gardens, interspersed with mag- 
nificent dwellings, — this city, with its sixty miles of moat, its 
sixty miles of outer wall, its thirty miles of river wall through 
its center, its hundred and fifty gates of solid brass, its hang- 
ing gardens, rising terrace above terrace, till they equaled in 
hight the walls themselves, its temple of Belus, three miles in 
circumference, its two royal palaces, one three and a half, and 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 36-38. 



47 



the other eight miles in circumference, with its subterranean 
tunnel under the River Euphrates connecting these two pal- 
aces, its perfect arrangements for convenience, ornament, and 
defense, and its unlimited resources, — this city, containing in 
itself many things which were themselves wonders of the 
world, was itself another and still mightier wonder. Never 
before saw the earth a city like that; never since has it seen its 
equal. And there, with the whole earth prostrate at her feet, 
a queen in peerless grandeur, drawing from the pen of inspira- 
tion itself this glowing title, 4 ' The glory of kingdoms, the 
beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," sat this city, fit capital of 
that kingdom which constituted the golden head of this great 
historic image. 

Such was Babylon, with Nebuchadnezzar, in the prime of 
life, bold, vigorous, and accomplished, seated upon its throne, 
when Daniel entered its impregnable walls to serve a captive 
for seventy years in its gorgeous palaces. There the children 
of the Lord, oppressed more than cheered by the glory and 
prosperity of the land of their captivity, hung their harps on 
the willows of the sparkling Euphrates, and wept when they 
remembered Zion. 

And there commenced the captive state of the church in a 
still broader sense; for, ever since that time, the people of 
God have been in subjection to, and more or less oppressed by, 
earthly powers. And so they will be, till all earthly powers 
shall finally yield to Him whose right it is to reign. And lo ! 
the day of deliverance draws on apace. 

Into another city, not only Daniel, but all the children of 
God, from least to greatest, from lowest to highest, from first 
to last, are soon to enter; a city not merely sixty miles in cir- 
cumference, but fifteen hundred miles; a city whose walls are 
not brick and bitumen, but precious stones and jasper; whose 
streets are not the stone-paved streets of Babylon, smooth and 
beautiful as they were, but transparent gold; whose river is 
not the mournful waters of the Euphrates, but the river of life ; 
whose music is not the sighs and laments of broken-hearted 
captives, but the thrilling pseans of victory over death and the 



48 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



grave, which ransomed multitudes shall raise; whose light is 
not the intermittent light of earth, but the unceasing and in- 
effable glory of God and the Lamb. Into this city they shall 
enter, not as captives entering a foreign land, but as exiles 
returning to their father's house; not as to a place where 
such chilling words as "bondage," "servitude," and "oppres- 
sion," shall weigh down their spirits, but to one where the 
sweet words, "home," "freedom," "peace," "purity," 
"unutterable bliss," and "unending life," shall thrill their 
bosoms with delight forever and ever. Yea; our mouths shall 
be filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing, when the 
Lord shall turn again the captivity of Zion. Ps. 126 : 1, 2; 
Eev. 21:1-27. 

Verse 39. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to 
thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all 
- the earth. 

Nebuchadnezzar reigned forty-three years, and was suc- 
ceeded by the following rulers : His son, Evil-merodach, two 
years; Neriglissar, his son-in-law, four years; Laborosoarchod, 
Neriglissar's son, nine months, which, being less than one 
year, is not counted in the canon of Ptolemy; and lastly, 
Nabonadius, whose son, Belshazzar, grandson of Nebuchad- 
nezzar, was associated with him on the throne, and with whom 
that kingdom came to an end. 

In the first year of Neriglissar, only two years after the 
death of Nebuchadnezzar, broke out that fatal war between 
the Babylonians and the Medes, which was to result in the 
utter subversion of the Babylonian kingdom. Cyaxeres, king of 
the Medes, who is called " Darius " in Dan. 5 : 31, summoned 
to his aid his nephew, Cyrus, of the Persian line, in his efforts 
against the Babylonians. The war was prosecuted with unin- 
terrupted success on the part of the Medes and Persians, until, 
in the eighteenth year of Nabonadius (the third year of his son 
Belshazzar), Cyrus laid siege to Babylon, the only city in all 
the East which then held out against him. The Babylonians, 
gathered within their impregnable walls, with provision on 
hand for twenty years, and land within the limits of their 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 39. 



49 



broad city sufficient to furnish food for the inhabitants and 
garrison for an indefinite period, scoffed at Cyrus from their 
lofty walls, and derided his seemingly useless efforts to bring 
them into subjection. And according to all human calculation, 
they had good ground for their feelings of security. Xever, 
weighed in the balance of any earthly probability, with the 
means of warfare then known, could that city be taken. 
Hence, they breathed as freely and slept as soundly as though 
no foe were waiting and watching for their destruction around 
their beleaguered walls. But God had decreed that the proud 
and wicked city should come down from her throne of glory; 
and when he speaks, what mortal arm can defeat his word ? 

In their very feeling of security lay the source of their 
danger. Cyrus resolved to accomplish by stratagem what he 
could not effect by force; and learning of the approach of an 
annual festival, in which the whole city would be given up to 
mirth and revelry, he fixed upon that day as the time to carry 
his purpose into execution. There was no entrance for him 
into that city except he could find it where the River Euphrates 
entered and emerged, passing under its walls. He resolved to 
make the channel of the river his own highway into the strong- 
hold of his enemy. To do this, the water must be turned aside 
from its channel through the city. For this purpose, on the 
evening of the feast-day above referred to, he detailed three 
bodies of soldiers, the first, to turn the river at a given hour 
into a large artificial lake a short distance above the city; the 
second, to take their station at the point where the river en- 
tered the city; the third, to take a position fifteen miles below, 
where the river emerged from the city; and these two latter 
parties were instructed to enter the channel, just as soon as 
they found the river fordable, and in the darkness of the night 
explore their way beneath the walls, and press on to the palace 
of the king, where they were to meet, surprise the palace, slay 
the guards, and capture or slay the king. When the water was 
turned into the lake mentioned above, the . river soon became 
fordable, and the soldiers detailed for that purpose followed its 
channel into the heart of the city of Babylon. 
4 



50 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



But all this would have been in vain, had not the whole 
city, on that eventful night, given themselves over to the most 
reckless carelessness and presumption, a state of things upon 
which Cyrus calculated largely for the carrying out of his 
purpose. For on each side of the river, through the entire 
length of the city, were walls of great hight, and of equal 
thickness with the outer walls. In these walls were huge 
gates of solid brass, which, when closed and guarded, debarred 
all entrance from the river bed to any and all of the twenty- 
five streets that crossed the river ; and had they been thus 
closed at this time, the soldiers of Cyrus might have marched 
into the city along the river bed, and then marched out again, 
for all that they would have been able to accomplish toward the 
subjugation of the place. But in the drunken revelry of that 
fatal night, these river gates were all left open, and the entrance 
of the Persian soldiers was not perceived. Many a cheek would 
have paled with terror, had they noticed the sudden going 
down of the river, and understood its fearful import. Many a 
tongue would have spread wild alarm through the city, had 
they seen the dark forms of their armed foe stealthily threading 
their way to the citadel of their strength. But no one noticed 
the sudden subsidence of the waters of the river; no one saw 
the entrance of the Persian warriors; no one took care that 
the river gates should be closed and guarded; no one cared for 
aught but to see how deeply and recklessly he could plunge 
into the wild debauch. That night's work cost them their 
kingdom and their freedom. They went into their brutish 
revelry subjects of the king of Babylon; they awoke from it 
slaves to the king of Persia. 

The soldiers of Cyrus first made known their presence in 
the city by falling upon the royal guards in the very vestibule 
of the palace of the king. Belshazzar soon became aware of 
the cause of the disturbance, and died vainly fighting for his 
imperiled life. This feast of Belshazzar is described in the 
fifth chapter of Daniel; and the scene closes with the simple 
record, "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chal- 




BABYLON TAKEN BY CYRUS. 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 39. 



5.1 



deans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being 
about threescore and two years old." 

Thus the first division of the great image was completed. 
Another kingdom had arisen, as the prophet had declared. 
The first instalment of the prophetic dream was fulfilled. 

But before we take leave of Babylon, let us glance forward 
to the end of its thenceforth melancholy history. It, would 
naturally be supposed that the conqueror, becoming possessed 
of so noble a city, far surpassing anything in the world, would 
have taken it as the seat of his empire, and maintained it in its 
primitive splendor. But God had said that that city should 
become a heap, and the habitation of the beasts of the desert; 
that their houses should be full of doleful creatures; that the 
wild beasts of the islands should cry in their desolate dwellings, 
and dragons in their pleasant palaces. Isa. 13 : 19-22. It 
must first be deserted. Cyrus removed the imperial seat to 
Susa, a celebrated city in the province of Elam, east from Baby- 
lon, on the banks of the River Choaspes, a branch of the Tigris. 
This was probably done, says Prideaux (i. 180), in the first year 
of his sole reign. The pride of the Babylonians being particu- 
larly provoked by this act, in the fifth year of Darius Hys- 
taspes, b. c. 517, they rose in rebellion, which brought upon 
themselves again the whole strength of the Persian empire. 
The city was once more taken by stratagem. Zopyrus, one of 
the chief commanders of Darius, having cut off his own nose 
and ears, and mangled his body all over with stripes, fled in 
this condition to the besieged, apparently burning with desire 
to be revenged on Darius for his great cruelty in thus mutila- 
ting him. In this way he won the confidence of the Babylo- 
nians till they at length made him chief commander of their 
forces; whereupon he betrayed the city into the hands of his 
master. And that they might ever after be deterred from re- 
bellion, Darius impaled three thousand of those who had been 
most active in the revolt, took away the brazen gates of the 
city, and beat down the walls from two hundred cubits to fifty 
cubits. This was the commencement of its destruction. By 



52 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



this act, it was left exposed to the ravages of every hostile 
band. Xerxes, on his return from Greece, plundered the tem- 
ple of Belus of its immense wealth, and then laid the lofty 
structure in ruins. Alexander the Great endeavored to rebuild 
it; but after employing ten thousand men two months to clear 
away the rubbish, he died from excessive drunkenness and 
debauchery, and the work was suspended. In the year 294 
b. c, Seleucus Nicator built the city of New Babylon in its 
neighborhood, and took much of the material and many of the 
inhabitants, of the old city, to build up and people the new. 
Now almost exhausted of inhabitants, neglect and decay were 
telling fearfully upon the ancient city. The violence of Par- 
thian princes hastened its ruin. About the end of the fourth 
century, it was used by the Persian kings as an inclosure for 
wild beasts. At the end of the twelfth century, according to a 
celebrated traveler, the few remaining ruins of Nebuchadnez- 
zar's palace were so full of serpents and venomous reptiles that 
they could not, without great danger, be closely inspected. 
And to-day, scarcely enough even of the ruins is left to mark 
the spot where once stood the largest, richest, and proudest 
city the world has ever seen. Thus the ruin of great Babylon 
shows us how accurately God will fulfil his word, and makes 
the doubts of skepticism appear like wilful blindness. 

' ' And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to 
thee." The use of the word kingdom here, shows that king- 
doms, and not particular kings, are represented by the different 
parts of this image'; and hence when it was said to Nebu- 
chadnezzar, ' ' Thou art this head of gold, " although the personal 
pronoun was used, the kingdom, not the person of the king, 
was meant. 

The succeeding kingdom, Medo-Persia, is the one which 
answers to the breast and arms of silver of the great image. 
It was to be inferior to the preceding kingdom. In what 
respect inferior ? Not in power; for it was its conqueror. Not 
in extent; for Cyrus subdued all the East from the ^Egean 
Sea to the River Indus, and thus erected the most extensive 




! 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 39. 



53 



empire that up to that time had ever existed. But it was 
inferior in wealth, luxury, and magnificence. 

Viewed from a Scriptural standpoint, the principal event 
under the Babylonish empire was the captivity of the children 
of Israel ; so the principal event under the Medo-Persian 
kingdom was the restoration of Israel to their own land. At 
the taking of Babylon, b. c. 538, Cyrus, as an act of courtesy, 
assigned the first place in the kingdom to his uncle, Darius. 
But, two years afterward, b. c. 536, Darius died; and in the 
same year also died Cambyses, king of Persia, Cyrus's father. 
By these events, Cyrus was left sole monarch of the whole 
empire. In this year, which closed Israel's seventy years of 
captivity, Cyrus issued his famous decree for the return of the 
Jews and the rebuilding of their temple. This was the first 
instalment of the great decree for the restoration and build- 
ing again of Jerusalem (Ezra 6 : 14), which was completed in 
the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, b. o. 457, and 
marked, as will hereafter be shown, the commencement of the 
2300 days of Daniel 8, the longest and most important pro- 
phetic period mentioned in the Bible. Dan. 9 : 25. 

After a reign of seven years, Cyrus left the kingdom to his 
son, Cambyses, called Ahasuerus in Ezra 4 : 6, who reigned 
seven years and five months, to b. c. 522. Eight monarchs 
whose reigns varied from seven months to forty-six years each, 
took the throne in order till the year b. c. 336, as follows: 
Smerdis the Magian, called Artaxerxes in Ezra 4 : 7, seven 
months, in the year b. o. 522; Darius Hystaspes, from b. c. 521 
to 486; Xerxes, from b. o. 485 to 465; Artaxerxes Longima- 
nus, from b. c. 464 to 424; Darius Nothus, from b. c. 423 to 
405; Artaxerxes Memnon, from b. o. 404 to 359; Ochus, from 
B. o. 358 to 338; Arses, from b. o. 337 to 336. The year 335 
is set down as the first of Darius Codomannus, the last of the 
line of the old Persian kings. This man, according to Prideaux, 
was of noble stature, of goodly person, of the greatest personal 
valor, and of a mild and generous disposition. Had he lived 
at any other age, a long and splendid career would undoubtedly 



54 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



have been his. But it was his ill-fortune to have to contend 
with one who was an agent in the fulfilment of prophecy; and 
no qualifications, natural or acquired, could render him suc- 
cessful in the unequal contest. Scarce was he warm upon the 
throne, says the last-named historian, ere he found his formi- 
dable enemy, Alexander, at the head of the Greek soldiers, pre- 
paring to dismount him from it. 

The cause and particulars of the contest between the Greeks 
and Persians we leave to histories specially devoted to such 
matters. Suffice it here to say that the deciding point was 
reached on the field of Arbela, b. c. 331, in which the Grecians, 
though only one to twenty in number as compared with the 
Persians, were entirely victorious; and Alexander thenceforth 
became absolute lord of the Persian empire to the utmost 
extent that it was ever possessed by any of its own kings. 

' 4 And another third kingdom of brass shall bear rule over 
all the earth," said the prophet. So few and brief are the 
inspired words which involved in their fulfilment a change of 
the world's rulers. In the ever-changing political kaleidoscope, 
Grecia now comes into the field of vision, to be, -for a time, the 
all-absorbing object of attention, as the third of what are 
called the great universal empires of the earth. 

After the fatal battle which decided the fate of the empire, - 
Darius still endeavored to rally the shattered remnants of his 
army, and make a stand for his kingdom and his rights. But 
he could not gather, out of all the host of his recently so nu- 
merous and well-appointed army, a force with which he deemed 
it prudent to hazard another engagement with the victorious 
Grecians. Alexander pursued him on the wings of the wind. 
Time after time did Darius barely elude the grasp of his swiftly 
following foe. At length two traitors, Bessus and Nabarzanes, 
seized the unfortunate prince, shut him up in a close cart, and 
fled with him as their prisoner toward Bactria. It was their 
purpose, if Alexander pursued them, to purchase their own 
safety by delivering up their king, Hereupon Alexander, 
learning of Darius 1 s dangerous position in the hands of the 
traitors, immediately put himself with the lightest part of his 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 39. 



55 



army upon a forced pursuit. After several days' hard march, 
he came up with the traitors. They urged Darius to mount on 
horseback for a more speedy flight. Upon his refusing to do 
this, they gave him several mortal wounds, and left him dying 
in his cart, while they mounted their steeds and rode away. 

When Alexander came up, he beheld only the lifeless form 
of the Persian king. As he gazed upon the corpse, he might 
have learned a profitable lesson of the instability of human 
fortune. Here was a man who, but a few months before, 
possessing many noble and generous qualities, was seated 
upon the throne of universal empire. Disaster, overthrow, 
and desertion had come suddenly upon him. His kingdom 
had been conquered, his treasure seized, and his family reduced 
to captivity. And now, brutally slain by the hand of traitors, 
he lay a bloody corpse in a rude cart. The sight of the melan- 
choly spectacle drew tears even from the eyes of Alexander, 
familiar though he was with all the horrible vicissitudes and 
bloody scenes of war. Throwing his cloak over the body, he 
commanded it to be conveyed to the captive ladies of Susa, 
himself furnishing the necessary means for a royal funeral. 
For this generous act let us give him credit; for he stands sadly 
in need of all that is his due. 

When Darius fell, Alexander saw the field cleared of his 
last formidable foe. Thenceforward he could spend his time 
in his own manner, now in the enjoyment of rest and pleasure, 
and again in the prosecution of some minor conquest. He 
entered upon a pompous campaign into India, because, accord- 
ing to Grecian fable, Bacchus and Hercules, two sons of 
Jupiter, whose son he also claimed to be, had done the same. 
With contemptible arrogance, he claimed for himself divine 
honors. He gave up conquered cities, freely and unprovoked, 
to the absolute mercy of his blood-thirsty and licentious 
soldiery. He himself often murdered his own friends and 
favorites in his drunken frenzies. He sought out the vilest 
persons for the gratification of his lust. At the instigation of 
a dissolute and drunken woman, he with a company of his 
courtiers, all in a state of frenzied intoxication, sallied out, 



56 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



torch in hand, and fired the city and palace of Persepolis, one 
of the then finest palaces in the world. He encouraged such 
excessive drinking among his followers that on one occasion 
twenty of them together died as the result of their carousal. 
At length, having sat through one long drinking spree, he was 
immediately invited to another, when, after drinking to each 
of the twenty guests present, he twice drank full, says history, 
incredible as it may seem, the Herculean cup containing six of 
our quarts. He thereupon fell down, seized with a violent 
fever, of which he died eleven days later, in May or June, 
b. c. 323, while yet he stood only at the threshold of mature 
life, in the thirty-second year of his age. 

The progress of the Grecian empire we need not stop to 
trace here, since its distinguishing features w T ill claim more 
particular notice under other prophecies. Daniel thus con- 
tinues in his interpretation of the great image : — 

Verse 40. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron ; foras- 
much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things ; and as iron 
that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 

Thus far in the application of this prophecy there is a gen- 
eral agreement among expositors. That Babylon, Medo-Persia, 
and Grecia are represented respectively by the head of gold, the 
breast and arms of silver, and the sides of brass, is acknowl- 
edged by all. But with just as little ground for a diversity of 
views, there is strangely a difference of opinion as to what 
kingdom is symbolized by the fourth division of the great im- 
age, — the legs of iron. On this point we have only to inquire, 
What kingdom did succeed Grecia in the empire of the world % 
for the legs of iron denote the fourth kingdom in the series. 
The testimony of history is full and explicit on this point. 
One kingdom did this, and one only, and that was Pome. It 
conquered Grecia; it subdued all things; like iron, it broke in 
pieces and bruised. Gibbon, following the symbolic imagery 
of Daniel, thus describes this empire : — 

' ' The arms of the Republic, sometimes vanquished in bat- 
tle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 40-42. 



57 



Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the ocean ; and the im- 
ages of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to represent 
the nations or their kings, were successively broken by the iron 
monarchy of Rome. ' ' 

At the opening of the Christian era, this empire took in the 
whole south of Europe, France, England, the greater part of 
the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the south of Germany, 
Hungary, Turkey, and Greece, not to speak of its possessions 
in Asia and Africa. Well, therefore, may Gibbon say of it : — 

' 4 The empire of the Romans filled the world. And when 
that empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world 
became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies. To resist 
was fatal; and it was impossible to fly.' 5 

It will be noticed that at first the kingdom is described 
unqualifiedly as strong as iron. And this was the period of its 
strength, during which it has been likened to a mighty Colos- 
sus, bestriding the nations, conquering everything, and giving 
laws to the world. But this was not to continue. 

Verse 41. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of pot- 
ters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided ; but there shall 
be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron 
mixed with miry clay. 42. And as the toes of the feet were part of 
iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly 
broken. 

The element of weakness symbolized by the clay, pertained 
to the feet as well as to the toes. Rome, before its division 
into ten kingdoms, lost that iron tenacity which it possessed to 
a superlative degree during the first centuries of its career. 
Luxury, with its accompanying effeminacy and degeneracy, 
the destroyer of nations as well as of individuals, began to 
corrode and weaken its iron sinews, and thus prepared the way 
for its subsequent disruption into ten kingdoms. 

The iron legs of the image terminate, to maintain the con- 
sistency of the figure, in feet and toes. To the toes, of which 
there were of course just ten, our attention is called by the 
explicit mention of them in the prophecy; and the kingdom 
represented by that portion of the image to which the toes be- 



58 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



longed, was finally divided into ten parts. The question there- 
fore naturally arises, Do the ten toes of the image represent the 
ten final divisions of the Roman empire 3 To those who prefer 
what seems to be a natural and straightforward interpretation 
of the word of God, it is a matter of no little astonishment that 
any question should here be raised. To take the ten toes to 
represent the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided seems 
like such an easy, consistent, and matter-of-course procedure, 
that it requires a labored effort to interpret it otherwise. Yet 
such an effort is made by some — by Romanists universally, 
and by such Protestants as still cling to Romish errors. 

A volume by H. Cowles, =D.D., may perhaps best be taken 
as a representative exposition on this side of the question. 
The writer gives every evidence of extensive erudition and 
great ability. It is the more to be regretted, therefore, that 
'these powers are devoted to the propagation of error, and to 
misleading the anxious inquirer who wishes to know his where- 
abouts on the great highway of time. 

We can but briefly notice his positions. They are, (1) 
That the third kingdom was Grecia during the lifetime of 
Alexander only; (2) That the fourth kingdom was Alexander's 
successors; (3) That the latest point to which the fourth king- 
dom could extend, is the manifestation of the Messiah; for (4) 
There the God of heaven set up his kingdom; there the stone 
smote the image upon its feet, and commenced the process of 
grinding it up. 

Nor can we reply at any great length to these positions. 

1. We might as well confine the Babylonian empire to the 
single reign of Nebuchadnezzar, or that of Persia to the reign 
of Cyrus, as to confine the third kingdom, Grecia, to the reign 
of Alexander. 

2. Alexander's successors did not constitute another king- 
dom, but a continuation of the same, the Grecian division of 
the image; for in this line of prophecy the succession of king- 
doms is by conquest. When Persia had conquered Babylon, 
we had the second empire; and when Grecia had conquered 
Persia, we had the third. But Alexander's successors (his 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 40-42. 



59 



four leading generals) did not conquer his empire, and erect 
another in its place ; they simply divided among themselves 
the empire which Alexander had conquered, and left ready to 
their hand. 

" Chronologically," says Professor C, "the fourth empire 
must immediately succeed Alexander, and lie entirely between 
him and the birth of Christ." Chronologically, we reply, it 
must do no such thing ; for the birth of Christ was not the 
introduction of the fifth kingdom, as will in due time appear. 
Here he overlooks almost the entire duration of the third 
division of the image, confounding it with the fourth, and 
giving no room for the divided state of the Grecian empire as 
symbolized by the four heads of the leopard of chapter 7, and 
the four horns of the goat of chapter 8. 

"Territorially," continues Professor C, "it [the fourth 
kingdom] should be sought in Western Asia, not in Europe; 
in general, on the same territory where the first, second, and 
third kingdoms stood." Why not in Europe, we ask? Each 
of the first three kingdoms possessed territory which was 
peculiarly its own. Why not the fourth ? Analogy requires 
that it should. And was not the third kingdom a European 
kingdom ? that is, did it not rise on European territory, and 
take its name from the land of its birth ? Why not, then, go a 
degree farther west for the place where the fourth great king- 
dom should be founded? And how did Grecia ever occupy 
the territory of the first and second kingdoms? — Only by 
conquest. And Rome did the same. Hence, so far as the 
territorial requirements of the professor's theory are con- 
cerned, Rome could be the fourth kingdom as truthfully as 
Grecia could be the third. 

' ' Politically, ' ' he adds, 4 ' it should be the immediate suc- 
cessor of Alexander's empire, . . . changing the dynasty, but 
not the nations." Analogy is against him here. Each of the 
first three kingdoms was distinguished by its own peculiar 
nationality. The Persian was not the same as the Babylonian, 
nor the Grecian the same as either of the two that preceded it. 
Now analogy requires that the fourth kingdom, instead of 



60 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



being composed of a fragment of this Grecian empire, should 
possess a nationality of its own, distinct from the other three. 
And this we find in the Roman kingdom, and in it alone. But, 
3. The grand fallacy which underlies this whole system of 
misinterpretation, is the too commonly taught theory that the 
kingdom of God was set up at the first advent of Christ. It 
can easily be seen how fatal to this theory is the admission that 
the fourth empire is Rome. For it was to be after the division 
of that fourth empire, that the God of heaven was to set up his 
kingdom. But the division of the Roman empire into ten parts 
was not accomplished previous to a. d. 476 ; consequently the 
kingdom of God could not have been set up at the first advent 
of Christ, nearly five hundred years before that date. Rome 
must not, therefore, from their standpoint, though it answers 
admirably to the prophecy in every particular, be allowed to 
be the kingdom in question. The position that the kingdom 
of God was set up in the days when Christ was upon earth, 
must, these interpreters seem to think, be maintained at all 
hazards. 

Such is the ground on which some expositors appear, at 
least, to reason. And it is for the purpose of maintaining this 
theory that our author dwindles down the third great empire 
of the world to the insignificant period of about eight years ! 
For this, he endeavors to prove that the fourth universal em- 
pire was bearing full sway during a period when the provi- 
dence of God was simply filling up the outlines of the third ! 
For this, he presumes to fix the points of time between which 
we must look for the fourth, though the prophecy does not 
deal in dates at all, and then whatever kingdom he finds 
within his specified time, that he sets down as the fourth king- 
dom, and endeavors to bend the prophecy to fit his interpreta- 
tion, utterly regardless of how much better material he might 
find outside of his little inclosure, to answer to a fulfilment of 
the prophetic record. Is such a course logical ? Is the time 
the point to be first established ? — No ; the kingdoms are the 
great features of the prophecy, and we are to look for them; 
and when we find them, we must accept them, whatever may 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 40-42. 



61 



be their chronology or location. Let them govern the time 
and place, not the time and place govern them. 

But that view which is the cause of all this misapplication 
and confusion, is sheer assumption. Christ did not smite the 
image at his first advent. Look at it ! When the stone smites 
the image upon its feet, the image is dashed in pieces. Vio- 
lence is used. The effect is immediate. The image becomes as 
chaff. And then what? Is it absorbed by the stone, and 
gradually incorporated with it? — Nothing of the kind. It is 
blown off, removed away, as incompatible and unavailable ma- 
terial; and no place is found for it. The territory is entirely 
cleared; and then the stone becomes a mountain, and fills the 
whole earth. Now what idea shall we attach to this work of 
smiting and breaking in pieces ? Is it a gentle, peaceful, and 
quiet work? or is it a manifestation of vengeance and violence? 
How did the kingdoms of the prophecy succeed the one to the 
other? — It was through the violence and din of war, the shock 
of armies and the roar of battle. ' ' Confused noise and 
garments rolled in blood," told of the force and violence 
with which one nation had been brought into subjection to 
another. Yet all this is not called "smiting 11 or "breaking 
in pieces." 

When Persia conquered Babylon, and Greece Persia, nei- 
ther of the conquered empires is said to have been broken 
in pieces, though crushed beneath the overwhelming power of 
a hostile nation. But when we reach the introduction of the 
fifth kingdom, the image is smitten with violence; it is dashed 
to pieces, and so scattered and obliterated that no place is 
found for it. And now what shall we understand by this ? — 
We must understand that here a scene transpires in which is 
manifested so much more violence and force and power than 
accompany the overthrow of one nation by another through 
the strife of war, that t&ie latter is not worthy even of mention 
in connection w T ith it. The subjugation of one nation by an- 
other by war, is a scene of peace and quietude in comparison 
with that which transpires when the image is dashed in pieces 
by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands. 



62 



PROPHECY OF DAXIEL. 



Yet what is the smiting of the image made to mean by the 
theory under notice ? — Oh, the peaceful introduction of the 
gospel of Christ ! the quiet spreading abroad of the light of 
truth ! the gathering out of a few from the nations of the 
earth, to be made ready through obedience to the truth, for 
his second coming, and reign ! the calm and unpretending 
formation of a Christian church, — a church that has been 
domineered over, persecuted, and oppressed by the arrogant 
and triumphant powers of earth from that day to this ! And 
this is the smiting of the image ! this is the breaking of it into 
pieces, and violently removing the shattered fragments from 
the face of the earth ! Was ever absurdity more absurd ? 

From this digression Ave return to the inquiry, Do the toes 
represent the ten divisions of the Roman empire ? We answer. 
Yes; because, — 

1. The image of chapter 2 is exactly parallel with the vis- 
ion of the four beasts of chapter 7. The fourth beast of chap- 
ter 7 represents the same as the iron legs of the image. The 
ten horns of the beast, of course, correspond very naturally to 
the ten toes of the image; and these horns are plainly declared 
to be ten kings which should arise; and they are just as much 
independent kingdoms as are the beasts themselves ; for the 
beasts are spoken of in precisely the same manner; namely, as 
"four kings which should arise." "Verse 17. They do not 
denote a line of successive kings, but kings or kingdoms which 
exist contemporaneously; for three of them were plucked up 
by the little horn. The ten horns, beyond controversy, repre- 
sent the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided. 

2. We have seen that in Daniel's interpretation of the 
image he uses the words king and kingdom interchangeably, 
the former denoting the same as the latter. In verse -i-i he says 
that ' ' in the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set 
up a kingdom. ' ' This shows that at the* time the kingdom of 
God is set up, there will be a plurality of kings existing con- 
temporaneously. It cannot refer to the four preceding king- 
doms; for it would be absurd to use such language in reference 
to a line of successive kings, since it would be in the days of 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 40-42. 



63 



the last king only, not in the days of any of the preceding, 
that the kingdom of God would be set up. 

Here, then, is a division presented ; and what have we in 
the symbol to indicate it % — Nothing but the toes of the image. 
Unless they do it, we are left utterly in the dark as to the 
nature and extent of the division which the prophecy shows 
did exist. To suppose this, would be to cast a serious imputa- 
tion upon the prophecy itself. We are therefore held to the 
conclusion that the ten toes of the image denote the ten parts 
into which, the Koman empire was divided. 1 

As an objection to the view that the ten toes of the image 
denote the ten kingdoms, we are sometimes reminded that 
Kome, before its division into ten kingdoms, was divided into 
two parts, the Western and Eastern empires, corresponding to 
the two legs of the image; and as the ten kingdoms all arose 
out of the western division, if they are denoted by the toes, 
we would have, it is claimed, ten toes on one foot of the 
image, and none on the other; which would be unnatural and 
inconsistent. 

But this objection devours itself; for certainly if the two 
legs denote division, the toes must denote division also. It 



i This division was accomplished between the years A. d. 351 and A. d. 483. The 
era of this dissolution thus covered almost a hundred and fifty years, from about 
the middle of the fourth century to near the close of the fifth. No historians of 
whom we are aware, place the beginning of this work of the dismemberment of the 
Eoman empire earlier than A. n. 351, and none assign its close to a later date than 
A. D. 483. Concerning the intermediate dates, that is, the precise time from which 
each of the ten kingdoms that arose on the ruins of the Eoman empire, is to be 
dated, there is some difference of views among historians. Nor does this seem 
strange, when we consider that that was an era of great confusion, that the map 
of the Roman empire during that time underwent many sudden and violent 
changes, and that the paths of hostile nations charging upon its territory, 
crossed and recrossed each other in a labyrinth of confusion. But all historians 
agree in this, that out of the territory of Western Rome, ten separate kingdoms 
were ultimately established, and we may safely assign them to the time between 
the extreme dates above named; namely, a. d. 351 and 483. 

The ten nations which were most instrumental in breaking up the Roman 
empire, and which at some time in their history held respectively portions of 
Roman territory as separate and independent kingdoms, may be enumerated 
(without respect to the time of their establishment) as follows: The Huns, Ostro- 
goths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Heruli, Anglo-Saxons, and 
Lombards. The connection between these and some of the modern nations of 
Europe, is still traceable in the names, as England, Burgundy, Lombardy, France, 
etc. Such authorities as Calmet, Faber, Lloyd, Hales, Scott, Barnes, etc., concur 
in the foregoing enumeration. (See Barnes's concluding notes on Daniel 7.) 



64 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



would be inconsistent to say that the legs symbolize division, 
but the toes do not. But if the toes do indicate division at 
all, it can be nothing but the division of Rome into ten parts. 

The fallacy, however, which forms the basis of this objec- 
tion, is the view that the two legs of the image do signify the 
separation of the Roman empire into its eastern and western 
divisions. To this view there are several objections. 

1. The two legs of iron symbolize Rome, not merely during 
its closing years, but from the very beginning of its existence 
as a nation ; and if these legs denote division, the kingdom 
should have been divided from the very commencement of its 
history. This claim is sustained by the other symbols. Thus 
the division (that is, the two elements) of the Persian kingdom, 
denoted by the two horns of the ram (Dan. 8 : 20), also by the 
elevation of the bear upon one side (Dan. 7:5,) and perhaps 
by the two arms of the image of this chapter, existed from the 
first. The division of the Grecian kingdom, denoted by the 
four horns of the goat and the four heads of the leopard, dates 
back to within eight years of the time when it was introduced 
into prophecy. So Rome should have been divided from the 
first, if the legs denote division, instead of remaining a unit for 
nearly six hundred years, and separating into its eastern and 
western divisions only a few years prior to its final disruption 
into ten kingdoms. 

2. No such division into two great parts is denoted by the 
other symbols under which Rome is represented in the book of 
Daniel; namely, the great and terrible beast of Daniel 7, and 
the little horn of chapter 8. Hence it is reasonable to conclude 
that the two legs of the image were not designed to represent 
such a division. 

But it may be asked, Why not suppose the two legs to de- 
note division as well as the toes ? Would it not be just as in- 
consistent to say that the toes denote division, and the legs do 
not, as to say that the legs denote division, and the toes do not ? 
We answer that the prophecy itself must govern our conclu- 
sions in this matter; and whereas it says nothing of division 
in connection with the legs, it does introduce the subject of 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 43. 



65 



division as we come down to the feet and toes. It says, "And 
whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and 
part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided." No division 
could take place, or at least none is said to have taken place, 
till the weakening element of the clay was introduced; and we 
do not find this till we come to the feet and toes. But we are 
not to understand that the clay denotes one division and the 
iron the other; for after the long-existing unity of the kingdom 
was broken, no one of the fragments was as strong as the origi- 
nal iron, but all were in a state of weakness denoted by the 
mixture of iron and clay. The conclusion is inevitable, there- 
fore, that the prophet has here stated the cause for the effect. 
The introduction of the weakness of the clay element, as we 
come to the feet, resulted in the division of the kingdom into 
ten parts, as represented by the ten toes ; and this result, 
or division, is more than intimated in the sudden mention 
of a plurality of contemporaneous kings. Therefore, while 
we find no evidence that the legs denote division, but serious 
objections against such a view, we do find, we think, good 
reason for supposing that the toes denote division, as here 
claimed. 

3. Each of the four monarchies had its own particular ter- 
ritory, which was the kingdom proper, and where we are to 
look for the chief events in its history shadowed forth by the 
symbol. We are not, therefore, to look for the divisions of the 
Roman empire in the territory formerly occupied by Babylon, 
or Persia, or Grecia, but in the territory proper of the Roman 
kingdom, which was what was finally known as the Western 
empire. Rome conquered the world; but the kingdom of 
Rome proper lay west of Grecia. That is what was repre- 
sented by the legs of iron. There, then, we look for the ten 
kingdoms; and there we find them. We are not obliged to 
mutilate or deform the symbol to make it a fit and accurate 
representation of historical events. 

Verse 43. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they 
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men ; but they shall not cleave 
one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 
5 



66 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



With Rome fell the last of the universal empires belonging 
to this world in its present state. Heretofore the elements of 
society had been such that it was possible for one nation, rising 
superior to its neighbors in prowess, bravery, and the science of 
war, to attach them one after another to its chariot wheels till 
all were consolidated into one vast empire, and one man seated 
upon the dominant throne could send forth his will as law to 
all the nations of the earth. When Rome fell, such possibili- 
ties forever passed away. Crushed beneath the weight of its 
own vast proportions, it crumbled to pieces, never to be united 
again. The iron was mixed with the clay. Its elements lost 
the power of cohesion, and no man or combination of men can 
again consolidate them. This point is so well set forth by an- 
other that we take pleasure in quoting his words : — 

"From this, its divided state, the first strength of the em- 
pire departed; but not as that of the others had done. No 
other kingdom was to succeed it, as it had the three which 
went before it. It was to continue in this tenfold division, un- 
til the kingdom of stone smote it upon its feet, broke them in 
pieces, and scattered them as the wind does the chaff of the 
summer threshing-floor ! Yet, through all this time, a portion 
of its strength was to remain. And so the prophet says, ' And 
as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, 
so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. ' 
Verse 42. How in any other way could you so strikingly 
represent the facts ? For more than fourteen hundred years, 
this tenfold division has existed. Time and again men have 
dreamed of rearing on these dominions one mighty kingdom. 
Charlemagne tried it. Charles V tried it. Louis XYI tried 
it. Napoleon tried it. But none succeeded. A single verse 
of prophecy was stronger than all their hosts. Their own 
power was wasted, frittered away, destroyed. But the ten 
kingdoms did not become one. ' Partly strong, and partly 
broken,' was the prophetic description. And such, too, has 
been the historic fact concerning them. With the book of his- 
tory open before you, I ask you, Is not this an exact represen- 
tation of the remnants of this once mighty empire ? It ruled 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 43. 



67 



with unlimited power. It was the throned mistress of the 
world. Its scepter was broken; its throne pulled clown; its 
power taken away. Ten kingdoms were formed out of it; and 
' broken ' as then it was, it still continues; i. e., 'partly 
broken; ' for its dimensions still continue as when the kingdom 
of iron stood upright upon its feet. And then it is ' partly 
strong;' i. <?., it retains, even in its broken state, enough of 
its iron strength to resist all attempts to mold its parts to- 
gether. ' This shall not be, ' says the word of God. ' This 
has not been, ' replies the book of history. 

"'But then,' men may say, 'another plan remains. If 
force cannot avail, diplomacy and reasons of state may; we 
will try them.' And so the prophecy foreshadows this when -it 
says, ' They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men ; * 
i. e., marriages shall be formed, in hope thus to consolidate 
their power, and, in the end, to unite these divided kingdoms 
into one. 

"And shall this device succeed ? — No. The prophet an- 
swers : ' They shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is 
not mixed with clay. ' And the history of Europe is but a 
running commentary on the exact fulfilment of these words. 
From the time of Canute to the present age, it has been the 
policy of reigning monarchs, the beaten path which they have 
trodden in order to reach a mightier scepter and a wider sway. 
And the most signal instance of it which history has recorded 
in our own day, is in the case of Napoleon. He ruled in one 
of the kingdoms. . . . He sought to gain by alliance what he 
could not gain by force; i. e., to build up one mighty, con- 
solidated empire. And did he succeed ? — Nay. The very 
power with which he was allied, proved his destruction, in the 
troops of Blucher, on the field of Waterloo ! The iron would 
not mingle with clay. The ten kingdoms continue still. 

"And yet, if as the result of these alliances or of other 
causes, that number is sometimes disturbed, it need not sur- 
prise us. It is, indeed, just what the prophecy seems to call 
for. The iron was ' mixed with the clay. ' For a season, in 
the image, you might not distinguish between them. But they 



68 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



would not remain so ' They shall not cleave one to another. ' 
The nature of the substances forbids them to do so in the one 
case; the word of prophecy in the other. Yet there was to be 
an attempt to mingle — nay, more, there was an approach to 
mingling in both cases. But it was to be abortive. And how 
marked the emphasis with which history affirms this declara- 
tion of the word of God ! " — Wm. Newton, Lectures on the 
First Two Visions of the Booh of Daniel, pp. 31^-36. 

Yet with all these facts before them, asserting the irresist- 
ible power of God's providence through the overturnings and 
changes of centuries, the efforts of warriors, and the diplomacy 
and intrigues of courts and kings, some modern expositors 
have manifested such a marvelous misapprehension of this 
prophecy as to predict a future universal kingdom, and point 
to a European ruler, even now of waning years and declining 
-prestige, as the "destined monarch of the world." Yain is 
the breath they spend in promulgating such a theory, and delu- 
sive the hopes or fears they may succeed in raising over such 
an expectation. 1 

Verse 44. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven 
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed ; and the kingdom 
shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume 
all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45. Forasmuch as thou 
sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and 
that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, "the clay, the silver, and the 
gold : the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to 
pass hereafter ; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof 
sure. 

We here reach the climax of this stupendous prophecy ; 
and when Time in his onward flight shall bring us to the sub- 
lime scene here predicted, we shall have reached the end of 
human history. The kingdom of God ! Grand provision for 
a new and glorious dispensation, in which his people shall 
find a happy terminus of this world's sad, degenerate, and 
changing career. Transporting change for all the righteous, 



i Shortly after this language was penned, Napoleon III, this " destined mon- 
arch of the world" ! was dethroned, and died in ignominious retirement, and his 
son and heir has since fallen by the hands of savages in Africa. 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 44, 45. 



69 



from gloom to glory, from strife to peace, from a sinful to a 
holy world, from death to life, from tyranny and oppression to 
the happy freedom and blessed privileges of a heavenly king- 
dom ! Glorious transition, from weakness to strength, from 
the changing and decaying to the immutable and eternal ! 

But when is this kingdom to be established % May we hope 
for an answer to an inquiry of such momentous concern to our 
race ? These are the very questions on which the word of God 
does not leave us in ignorance; and herein is seen the surpass- 
ing value of this heavenly boon. We do not say that the exact 
time is revealed (we emphasize the fact that it is not) either in 
this or any other prophecy; but so near an approximation is 
given that the generation which is to see the establishment' of 
this kingdom may mark its approach unerringly, and make that 
preparation which will entitle them to share in all its glories. 

As already explained, we are brought down by verses 41-43 
this side of the division of the Roman empire into ten king- 
doms; which division was accomplished, as already noticed, be- 
tween 351 and 483. The kings, or kingdoms, in the days of 
which the God of heaven is to set up his kingdom, are evi- 
dently those kingdoms which arose out of the Roman empire. 
Then the kingdom of God here brought to view could not have 
been set up, as some claim it was, in connection with the first 
advent of Christ, four hundred and fifty years before. But 
whether we apply this division to the ten kingdoms or not, it 
is certain that some kind of division was to take place in the 
Roman empire before the kingdom of God should be set up; 
for the prophecy expressly declares, ' ' The kingdom shall be 
divided." And this is equally fatal to the popular view ; for 
after the unification of the first elements of the Roman power 
down to the days of Christ, there was no division of the king- 
dom; nor during his days, nor for many years after, did any 
such thing take place. The civil wars were not divisions of 
the empire; they were only the efforts of individuals worship- 
ing at the shrine of ambition, to obtain supreme control of the 
empire. The occasional petty revolts of distant provinces, sup- 
pressed as with the power, and almost with the speed, of a 



70 



PROPHECY OP DAXIEL. 



thunderbolt, did not constitute a division of the kingdom. 
And these are all that can be pointed to as interfering with 
the unity of the kingdom, for more than three hundred years 
this side the days of Christ. This one consideration is suffi- 
cient to disprove forever the view that the kingdom of God, 
which constitutes the fifth kingdom of this series, as brought 
to view in Daniel 2, was set up at the commencement of the 
Christian era. But a thought more may be in place. 

1. This fifth kingdom, then, could not have been set up at 
Christ's first advent, because it is not to exist contemporane- 
ously with earthly governments, but to succeed them. As the 
second kingdom succeeded the first, the third the second, and 
the fourth the third, by violence and overthrow, so the fifth 
succeeds the fourth. It does not exist at the same time with 

- it. The fourth kingdom is first destroyed, the fragments 
are removed, the territory is cleared, and then the fifth is 
established as a succeeding kingdom in the order of time. 
But the church has existed contemporaneously with earthly 
governments ever since earthly governments were formed. 
There was a church in Abel's day, in Enoch's, in Noah's, in 
Abraham's, and so on to the present. No; the church is not 
the stone that smote the image upon the feet. It existed too 
early in point of time, and the work in which it is engaged is 
not that of smiting and overthrowing earthly governments. 

2. The fifth kingdom is introduced by the stone smiting 
the image. What part of the image does the stone smite ? 
— The feet and toes. But these were not developed until 
four centuries and a half after the crucifixion of Christ. The 
image was, at the time of the crucifixion, only developed to 
the thighs, so to speak; and if the kingdom of God was there 
set up, if there the stone smote the image, it smote it upon 
the thighs, not upon the feet, where the prophecy places the 
smiting. 

3. The stone that smites the image is cut out of the 
mountain without hands. The margin reads, "Which was 
not in hand." This shows that the smiting is not done by an 
agent acting for another, not by the church, for instance, in 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 44, 45. 



71 



the hands of Christ; but it is a work which the Lord does by 
his own divine power, without any human agency. 

4. Again, the kingdom of God is placed before the church 
as a matter of hope. The Lord did not teach his disciples a 
prayer which in two or three years was to become obsolete. 
The petition may as appropriately ascend from the lips of the 
patient, waiting flock in these last days, as from the lips of his 
first disciples, ' ' Thy kingdom come. ' ' 

5. We have plain Scripture declarations to establish the 
following propositions : (1) The kingdom was still future at the 
time of our Lord's last Passover. Matt. 26 : 29. (2) Christ 
did not set it up before his ascension. Acts 1:6. (3) Flesh 
and blood cannot inherit it. 1 Cor. 15 : 50. (4) It is a matter 
of promise to the apostles, and to all those that love God. 
James 2 :5. (5) It is. promised in the future to the little 
flock. Luke 12 : 32. (6) Through much tribulation the saints 
are to enter therein. Acts 14: : 22. (7) It is to be set up when 
Christ shall judge the living and the dead. 2 Tim. 4/: 1. (8) 
This is to be when he shall come in his glory with all his holy 
angels. Matt. 25 : 31-34. 

As militating against the foregoing view, it may be asked 
if the expression, "Kingdom of heaven," is not, in the New 
Testament, applied to the church. In some instances it may 
be ; but in others as evidently it cannot be. In the decisive 
texts referred to above, which show that it was still a matter of 
promise even after the church was fully established, that mor- 
tality cannot inherit it, and that it is to be set up only in con- 
nection with the coming of our Lord to judgment, the reference 
cannot be to any state or organization here upon earth. The 
object we have before us is to ascertain what constitutes the 
kingdom of Dan. 2 : 44; and we have seen that the prophecy 
utterly forbids our applying it there to the church, inasmuch 
as by the terms of the prophecy itself we are prohibited from 
looking for that kingdom till over four hundred years after the 
crucifixion of Christ and the establishment of the gospel church. 
Therefore if in some expressions in the New Testament the 
word ''kingdom'' can be found applying to the work of God's 



72 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



grace, or the spread of the gospel, it cannot in such instances 
be the kingdom brought to view in Daniel. That can only be 
the future literal kingdom of Christ's glory so often brought to 
view in both the Old Testament and the New. 

It may be objected again, that when the stone smites the 
image, the iron, the brass, the silver, and the gold are broken 
to pieces together; hence the stone must have smitten the image 
when all these parts were in existence. In reply we ask, What 
is meant by their being broken to pieces together ? Does the 
expression mean that the same persons who constituted the 
kingdom of gold would be alive when the image was dashed 
to pieces ?■ — No; else the image covers but the duration of a 
single generation. Does it mean that that would be a ruling 
kingdom? — No; for there is a succession of kingdoms down 
to the fourth. On the supposition, then, that the fifth king- 
dom was set up at the first advent, in what sense were the 
brass, silver, and gold in existence then any more than at the 
present day ? Does it refer to the time of the second resurrec- 
tion, when all these wicked nations will be raised to life ? — 
No; for the destruction of earthly governments in this present 
state, which is here symbolized by the smiting of the image, 
certainly takes place at the end of this dispensation; and in 
the second resurrection national distinctions will be no more 
known. 

No objection really exists in the point under consideration; 
for all the kingdoms symbolized by the image, are, in a certain 
sense, still in existence. Chaldea and Assyria are still the first 
divisions of the image; Media and Persia, the second; Macedo- 
nia, Greece, Thrace, Asia Minor, and Egypt, the third. Polit- 
ical life and dominion, it is true, have passed from one to the 
other, till, so far as the image is concerned, it is all now con- 
centrated in the divisions of the fourth kingdom ; but the 
others, in location and substance, though without dominion, 
are still there; and together all will be dashed to pieces when 
the fifth kingdom is introduced. 

It may still further be asked, by way of objection, Have 
not the ten kingdoms, in the days of which the kingdom of 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 44, 45 



73 



God was to be set up, all passed away \ and as the kingdom of 
God is not yet set up, has not the prophecy, according to the 
view here advocated, proved a failure? We answer, Those 
kingdoms have not yet passed away. We are yet in the days 
of those kings. The following illustration from Dr. Nelson's 
"Cause and Cure of Infidelity," pp. 374, 375, will set this 
matter in a clear light : — 

' ' Suppose some feeble people should be suffering from the 
almost constant invasions of numerous and ferocious enemies. 
Suppose some powerful and benevolent prince sends them word 
that he will, for a number of years, say thirty, maintain, for 
their safety along the frontier, ten garrisons, each to contain 
one hundred well-armed men. Suppose the forts are built and 
remain a few years, when two of them are burned to the 
ground and rebuilt without delay; has there been any violation 
of the sovereign's word ? — JSTo; there was no material inter- 
ruption in the continuance of the walls of strength; and, further- 
more, the most important part of the safeguard was still there. 
Again, suppose the monarch sends and has two posts of 
strength demolished, but, adjoining the spot where these stood, 
and immediately, he has other two buildings erected, more 
capacious and more desirable ; does the promise still stand 
good ? We answer in the affirmative, and we believe no one 
would differ with us. Finally, suppose, in addition to the ten 
garrisons, it could be shown that for several months during the 
thirty years, one more had been maintained there; that for 
one or two years out of the thirty, there had been there eleven 
instead of ten fortifications; shall we call it a defeat or a failure 
of the original undertaking? Or shall any seeming interrup- 
tions, such as have been stated, destroy the propriety of our 
calling these the ten garrisons of the frontier ? The answer is, 
No, without dispute. 

"So it is, and has been, respecting the ten kingdoms of 
Europe once under the Roman scepter. They have been there 
for twelve hundred and sixty years. If several have had their 
names changed, according to the caprice of him who conquered, 
this change of name did not destroy existence. If others 



74 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



have had their territorial limits changed, the nation was still 
there. If others have fallen while successors were forming in 
their room, the ten horns were still there. If, during a few 
years out of a thousand, there were more than ten, if some 
temporary power reared its head, seeming to claim a place with 
the rest, and soon disappeared, it has not caused the beast to 
have less than ten horns." 
Scott remarks : — 

"It is certain that the Roman empire was divided into ten 
kingdoms; and though they might be sometimes more and 
sometimes fewer, yet they were still known by the name of the 
ten kingdoms of the Western empire." 

Thus the subject is cleared of all difficulty. Time has fully 
developed this great image in all its parts. Most strictly does 
.it represent the important political events it was designed to 
symbolize. It stands complete upon its feet. Thus it has been 
standing for over fourteen hundred years. It waits to be 
smitten upon the feet by the stone cut out of the mountain 
without hand, that is, the kingdom of Christ. This is to be 
accomplished when the Lord shall be revealed in flaming fire, 
taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey 
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See Ps. 2 : 8, 9.) In 
the days of these kings the God of heaven is to set up a king- 
dom. We have been in the days of these kings for over four- 
teen centuries, and we are still in their days. So far as this 
prophecy is concerned, the very next event is the setting up of 
God's everlasting kingdom. Other prophecies and innumerable 
signs show unmistakably its immediate proximity. 

The coming kingdom ! This ought to be the all-absorbing 
topic with the present generation. Reader, are you ready for 
the issue ? He who enters this kingdom enters it not merely 
for such a lifetime as men live in this present state, not to see 
it degenerate, not to see it overthrown by a succeeding and more 
powerful kingdom; but he enters it to participate in all its 
privileges and blessings, and to share its glories forever; for 
this kingdom is not to " be left to other people. ' ' Again we 
ask you, Are you ready ? The terms of heirship are most lib- 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 46-49. 



75 



eral : " If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs 
according to the promise." Are you on terms of friendship 
with Christ, the coming King \ Do you love his character '. 
Are you trying to walk humbly in his footsteps, and obey his 
teachings ? If not, read your fate in the cases of those in the 
parable, of whom it was said, " But those mine enemies, which 
would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and 
slay them before me." There is to be no rival kingdom 
where you can find an asylum if you remain an enemy to 
this; for this is to occupy all the territory ever possessed by 
any and all of the kingdoms of this world, past or present. It 
is to fill the whole earth. Happy they to whom the rightful 
Sovereign, the all-conquering King, at last can say, ' 6 Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world." 

Terse 46. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and 
worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and 
sweet odors unto him. 47. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, 
Of a truth it is, that y our God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and 
a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 48. Then 
the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and 
made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the 
governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 49. Then Daniel requested 
of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the 
affairs of the province of Babylon ; but Daniel sat in the gate of the 
king. 

We have dwelt quite at length on the interpretation of the 
dream, which Daniel made known to the Chaldean monarch. 
From this we must now return to the palace of Nebuchadnez- 
zar, and to Daniel, as he stands in the presence of the king, 
having made known to him the dream and the interpretation 
thereof, while the courtiers and the baffled soothsayers and 
astrologers wait around in silent awe and wonder. 

It might be expected that an ambitious monarch; raised to 
the highest earthly throne, and in the full flush of uninterrupted 
success, would scarcely brook to be told that his kingdom, 
which he no doubt fondly hoped would endure through all 
time, was to be overthrowm by another people. Yet Daniel 



76 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



plainly and boldly made known this fact to the king; and the 
king, so far from being offended, fell upon his face before the 
prophet of God, and offered him worship. Daniel doubtless 
immediately countermanded the orders which the king issued 
to pay him divine honors. That Daniel had some communica- 
tion with the king which is not here recorded, is evident from 
verse 47 : ''The king answered unto Daniel, " etc. And it may 
be still further inferred that Daniel labored to turn the king's 
feelings of reverence from himself to the God of heaven, inas- 
much as the king replies, "Of a truth it is that your God is a 
God of gods and a Lord of kings." 

Then the king made Daniel a great man. There are two 
things which in this life are specially supposed to make a man 
great, and both these Daniel received from the king : (1) 
Riches. A man is considered great if he is a man of wealth; 
and we read that the king gave him many and great gifts. (2) 
Power. If in conjunction with riches a man has power, 
certainly in popular estimation he is considered a great man; 
and power was bestowed upon Daniel in abundant measure. 
He was made ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and 
chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 

Thus speedily and abundantly did Daniel begin to be re- 
warded for his fidelity to his own conscience and the require- 
ments of God. So great was Balaam's desire for the presents 
of a certain heathen king, that he endeavored to obtain them 
in spite of the Lord's expressed will to the contrary, and thus 
signally failed. Daniel did not act with a view to obtaining 
these presents ; yet by maintaining his integrity with the 
Lord they were given abundantly into his hands. His ad- 
vancement, both with respect to wealth and power, was a 
matter of no small moment with him as it enabled him to be 
of service to his fellow-countrymen less favored than himself 
in their long captivity. 

Daniel did not become bewildered nor intoxicated by his 
signal victory and his wonderful advancement. He first re- 
members the three w T ho were companions with him in anxiety 
respecting the king's matter ; and as they had helped him 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 46-49. 



77 



with their prayers, he determined that they should share with 
him in his honors. At his request they were placed over the 
affairs of Babylon, while Daniel himself sat in the gate of the 
king. The gate was the place where councils were held, and 
matters of chief moment were deliberated upon. The record 
is a simple declaration that Daniel became chief counselor to 
the king. 





Verse 1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose 
hight was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits; he set 
* it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 

^|2? HERE is a conjecture extant that this image had some 
^ Wf> reference to the dream of the king as described in the 
A previous chapter, it having been erected only twenty- 
three years subsequently, according to the marginal chronol- 
ogy. In that dream the head was of gold, representing Nebu- 
chadnezzar's kingdom. That was succeeded by metals of 
inferior quality, denoting a succession of kingdoms. Nebu- 
chadnezzar was doubtless quite gratified that his kingdom 
should be represented by the gold ; but that it should ever 
be succeeded by another kingdom was not so pleasing. Hence, 
instead of having simply the head of his image of gold, he 
made it all of gold, to denote that the gold of the head should 
extend through the entire image; or, in other words, that his 
kingdom should not give way to another kingdom, but be 
perpetual. 

It is probable that the hight here mentioned, ninety feet 
at the lowest estimate, was not the hight of the image proper, 
but included the pedestal also. Nor is it probable that any 
more than the image proper, if even that, was of solid gold. 
It could have been overlaid with thin plates, nicely joined, at 
[78] 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 1-12. 



79 



a much less expense, without detracting at all from its ex- 
ternal appearance. 

Verse 2. Then Nebuchadnezzar the. king sent to gather together 
the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, 
the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come 
to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set 
up. 3. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the 
treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, 
were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchad- 
nezzar the king had set up ; and they stood before the image that Neb- 
uchadnezzar had set up. 4. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is 
commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5. That at what time ye 
hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, 
and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that 
Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up ; 6. And whoso falleth not down 
and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning 
fiery furnace. 7. Therefore, at that time, when all the people heard the 
sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, 
all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped 
the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 

The dedication of this image was made a great occasion. 
The chief men of all the kingdom were gathered together; so 
much pains and expense will men undergo in sustaining idola- 
trous and heathen systems of worship. So it is and ever has 
been. Alas, that those who have the true religion should be 
so far outdone in these respects by the upholders of the false 
and counterfeit ! The worship was accompanied with music; 
and whoso should fail to participate therein was threatened 
with a fiery furnace. Such are ever the strongest motives to 
impel men in any direction, — pleasure on the one hand, pain 
on the other. 

Terse 6 contains the first mention to be found in the Bible 
of the division of time into hours. It was probably the inven- 
tion of the Chaldeans. 

Verse 8. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and 
accused the Jews. 9. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, 
O king, live forever. 10. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every 
man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, 
and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the 
golden image; 11. And whoso. falleth not down and worshipeth, that he 
should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12. There are 



80 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of 
Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; these men, O king, have 
not regarded thee ; they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image 
which thou hast set up. 

These Chaldeans who accused, the Jews were probably the 
sect of philosophers who went by that name, and who were 
still smarting under the chagrin of their ignominious failure in 
respect to their interpretation of the king's dream of chapter 2. 
They were eager to seize upon any pretext to accuse the Jews 
before the king, and either disgrace or destroy them. They 
worked upon the king's prejudice by strong intimations of 
their ingratitude : Thou hast set them over the affairs of Baby- 
lon, and yet they have disregarded thee. Where Daniel was 
upon this occasion, is not known. He was probably absent on • 
some business of the empire, the importance of which demanded 
his presence. But why should Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
nego, since they knew they could not worship the image, be 
present on the occasion '? Was it not because they were willing 
to comply with the king's requirements as far as they could 
without compromising their religious principles ? The king 
required them to be present. With this requirement they 
could comply, and they did. He required them to worship 
the* image. This their religion forbade, and this they therefore 
refused to do. 

Verse 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded 
to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these 
men before the king. 14. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, 
Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and. Abed-nego, do not ye serve my 
gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up ? 15. Now if 
ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, 
harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall 
down and worship the image which I have made ; well : but if ye wor- 
ship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery 
furnace ; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands ? 

16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, 
O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 

17. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the 
burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 

18. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy 
gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FIERY FURNACE. 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 13-25. 



81 



The forbearance of the king is shown in his granting Sha- 
drach, Meshach, and Abed-nego another trial after their first 
failure to comply with his requirements. Doubtless the mat- 



to do it was an intentional and deliberate refusal to obey him. 
With most kings this would have been enough to seal their fate. 
But no, says Nebuchadnezzar, I will overlook this offense, if 
upon a second trial they comply with the law. But they in- 
formed the king that he need not trouble himself to repeat the 
farce. "We are not careful," said they, c ' to answer thee in 
this matter." That is, you need not grant us the favor of 
another trial; our mind is made up. We can answer just as 
well now as at any future time; and our answer is, We will 
not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou 
hast set up. Our God can deliver if he will; but if not, it is 
just the same. We know his will, and to that we shall render 
unconditional obedience. Their answer was both honest 'and 
decisive. 

Verse 19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of 
his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; 
therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace 
one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20. And he com- 
manded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 
21. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, 
and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning 
fiery furnace. 22. Therefore because the king's commandment was 
urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those 
men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 23. And these 
three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the 
midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king 
was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, 
Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire ? They 
answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25. He answered and 
said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they 
have no hurt ; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 

Nebuchadnezzar was not entirely free from the faults and fol- 
lies into which an absolute monarch so easily runs. Intoxicated 
with unlimited power, he could not brook disobedience or con- 




6 



82 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



tradiction. Let his expressed authority be resisted, on how- 
ever good grounds, and he exhibits the weakness common to 
»our fallen humanity under like circumstances, and flies into a 
passion. Ruler of the world, he was not equal to that still 
harder task of ruling his own spirit. And even the form of his 
visage was changed. Instead of the calm, dignified, self-pos- 
sessed ruler that he should have appeared, he betrayed him- 
self in look and act as the slave of ungovernable passion. 

The furnace was heated one seven times hotter than usual, 
in other words, to its utmost capacity. The king overreached 
himself in this ; for even if the fire had been suffered to have 
its ordinary effect upon the ones he cast into the furnace, it 
would only have destroyed them the sooner. Nothing would 
have been gained by that means on the part of the king. But 
seeing they were delivered from it, much was gained on the 
part of the cause of God and his truth; for the more intense 
the heat, the greater and more impressive the miracle of being 
delivered from it. Every circumstance was calculated to show 
the direct power of God. They were bound in all their gar- 
ment's, but came out with not even the smell of fire upon them. 
The most mighty men in the army were chosen to cast them in. 
These the fire slew ere they came in contact with it; while 
on the Hebrews it had no effect, though they were in the very 
midst of its flames. It was evident that the fire was under the 
control of some supernatural intelligence ; for while it had 
effect upon the cords with which they were bound, destroying 
them, so that they were free to walk about in the midst of the 
fire, it did not even singe their garments. They did not, as 
soon as free, spring out of the fire, but continued therein; for, 
first, the king had put them in, and it was his place to call them 
out; and secondly, the form of the fourth was with them, and 
in his presence they could be content and joyful, as well in the 
furnace of fire as in the delights and luxuries of the palace. 
Let us in all our trials, afflictions, ^persecutions, and straitened 
places, but have the "form of the fourth ' ? with us, and it is 
enough. 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 26-30. 



83 



The king said, < ' And the form of the fourth is like the Son 
of God." This language is by some supposed to refer to Christ; 
but it is not likely that the king had any idea of the Saviour. 
A better rendering, according to good authorities, would be 
"like a son of the gods; " that is, he had the appearance of a 
supernatural, or divine being. Nebuchadnezzar subsequently 
called him an angel. 

What a scathing rebuke upon the king for his folly and 
madness was the deliverance of these worthies from the fiery 
furnace ! A higher power than any on earth had vindicated 
those who stood firm against idolatry, and poured contempt on 
the worship and requirements of the king. None of the gods 
of the heathen ever had wrought such deliverance as that, nor 
were they able to do so. 

Verse 26. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the 
burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. 
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the 
fire. 27. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's coun- 
selors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the 
fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their 
coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28. Then 
Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Me- 
shach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his serv- 
ants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded 
their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any God, except 
their own God. 29. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, na- 
tion, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Sha- 
drach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses 
shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other God that can deliver 
after this sort. 30. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abed-nego in the province of Babylon. 

When bidden, these three men came forth from the fur- 
nace. Then the princes, governors, and king's counselors, 
through whose advice, or at least concurrence, they had been 
cast into the furnace (for the king said to them, verse 24, ' 1 Did 
not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire ? "), were 
gathered together to look upon these men, and have optical and 
tangible proof of their wonderful preservation. The worship 



84 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



of the great image was lost sight of. The whole interest of 
this vast concourse of people was now concentrated upon these 
three remarkable men. All men's thoughts and minds were 
full of this wonderful occurrence. And how the knowledge 
of it would be spread abroad throughout the empire, as they 
should return to their respective provinces ! What a notable 
instance in which God caused the wrath of man to praise him ! 

Then the king blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abed-nego, and made a decree that none should speak against 
him. This the Chaldeans had undoubtedly done. In those 
days, each nation had its god or gods ; for there were ' ' gods 
many and lords many.'' And the victory of one nation over 
another was supposed to occur because the gods of the con- 
quered nation were not able to deliver them from the con- 
querors. The Jews had been wholly subjugated by the 
Babylonians, on which account the latter had no doubt spoken 
disparagingly or contemptuously of the God of the Jews. This 
the king now prohibits; for he is plainly given to understand 
that his success against the Jews was owing to their sins, not to 
any lack of power on the part of their God. In what a con- 
spicuous and exalted light this placed the God of the Hebrews 
in comparison with the gods of the nations ! It was an acknowl- 
edgment that he held men amenable to some high standard 
of moral character, and that he did not regard with indifference 
their actions in reference to it ; since he would visit with pun- 
ishment those who transgressed it, and would consequently 
bestow his blessing on those who complied with it. Had these 
Jews been time-servers, the name of the true God had not thus 
been exalted in Babylon. "What honor does the Lord put upon 
them that are steadfast toward him ! 

The king promoted them; that is, he restored to them the 
offices which they held before the charges of disobedience and 
treason were brought against them. At the end of verse 30 
the Septuagint adds : £ ' And he advanced them to be governors 
over all the Jews that were in his kingdom. " It is not prob- 
able that he insisted on any further worship of his image. 




Verse 1. Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and 
languages, that dwell in all the earth ; Peace be multiplied unto you. 2. 
I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath 
wrought toward me. 3. How great are his signs ! and how mighty are 
his wonders ! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion 
is from generation to generation. 



S).g?HIS chapter opens, says Dr. Clarke, with "a regular 
decree, and one of the most ancient on record." It 
was from the pen of Nebuchadnezzar, and was promul- 
gated in the usual form. He wishes to make known, not to a 
few only, but to all people, nations, and languages, the won- 
derful dealings of God with him. People are ever ready to 
tell what God has done for them in the way of benefits and 
blessings. We ought to be no less ready to tell what God has 
done for us in the way of humiliation and chastisements; and 
Nebuchadnezzar sets us a good example in this respect, as we 
shall see from the subsequent portions of this chapter. He 
frankly confesses the vanity and pride of his heart, and the 
means that God took to abase him. With a genuine spirit of 
repentance and humiliation, he thinks it good, of his own free 
will, to show these things, that the sovereignty of God may be 
extolled, and his name adored. In reference to the kingdom, 
he no longer claims immutability for his own, but makes a full 
surrender to God, in acknowledging his kingdom alone to be 
everlasting, and his dominion from generation to generation. 

[85] 



86 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Verse 4. I Nebuchadnezzar Avas at rest in mine house and flourish- 
ing in my palace : 5. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the 
thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. 6. 
Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before 
me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the 
dream. 7. Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, 
and the soothsayers ; and I told the dream before them ; but they did not 
make known unto me the interpretation thereof. 8. But at the last 
Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to 
the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods : and 
before him I told the dream, saying, 9. O Belteshazzar, master of the 
magicians, because I know that the spirit of the hoi}' gods is in thee, and 
no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, 
and the interpretation thereof. 10. Thus were the visions of mine head 
in my bed : I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the 
hight thereof was great. 11. The tree grew, and was strong, and the 
hight thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of 
all the earth ; 12. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof 
much, and in it was meat for all : the beasts of the field had shadow 
under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and 
all flesh was fed of it. 13. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, 
and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; 14. He 
cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, 
shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit : let the beasts get away from 
under it, and the fowls from his branches: 15. Nevertheless, leave'the 
stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the 
tender grass of the field ; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and 
let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth ; 16. Let his 
heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him ; 
and let seven times pass over him. 17. This matter is by the decree of 
the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones ; to the in- 
tent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom 
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the 
basest of men. 18. This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now 
thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all 
the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the in- 
terpretation : but thou art able ; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. 

In the events here narrated, several striking points may be 
noticed. 

1. Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in his house. He had 
accomplished successfully all his enterprises. He had subdued 
Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Egypt, and Arabia. It was probably 
these great conquests that puffed him up, and betrayed him 
into such vanity and self-confidence. And this very time, 
when he felt most at rest and secure, when it was most un- 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 1-18. 



ST 



likely that he would allow a thought to disturb his self-com- 
placent tranquillity, — this very time God takes to trouble him 
with fears and forebodings. 

2. > The means by which God did this. What could strike 
with fear the heart of such a monarch as Nebuchadnezzar ? He 
had been a warrior from his youth. With the perils of battle, 
the terrors of slaughter and carnage, he had often stood face 
to face, and his countenance had not blanched, nor his nerves 
trembled. And what should make him afraid now ? No foe 
threatened, no hostile cloud was visible. As the most unlikely 
time was taken for him to be touched with fear, so the most 
unlikely means was selected by which to accomplish it — a 
dream. His own thoughts, and the visions of his own head, 
were taken to teach him what nothing else could, — a salutary 
lesson of dependence and humility. He who had terrified 
others, but whom no others could terrify, was made a terror 
to himself. 

3. A still greater humiliation than that narrated in the 
second chapter was brought upon the magicians. There, they 
boasted that if they only had the dream, they could make 
known the interpretation. Here, Nebuchadnezzar distinctly 
remembers the dream, but meets the mortification of having 
his magicians ignominiously fail him again. They could not 
make known the interpretation, and resort is again had to the 
prophet of God. 

4. The remarkable illustration of the reign of Nebuchad- 
nezzar. This is symbolized by a tree in the midst of the earth. 
Babylon, where Nebuchadnezzar reigned, was about in the 
center of the then known world. The tree reached unto heaven, 
and the leaves thereof were fair. Its external glory and splen- 
dor were great; but this was not all of it, as is the case with 
too many kingdoms. It had internal excellences. Its fruit 
was much, and it had meat for all. The beasts of the field 
had shadow under it, the fowls of heaven dwelt in the boughs 
thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. What could represent 
more plainly and forcibly the fact that Nebuchadnezzar ruled 
his kingdom in such a way as to afford the fullest protection, 



88 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



support, and prosperity to all his subjects ? Really to accom- 
plish this is the perfection of earthly governments, and the 
highest glory of any kingdom. 

5. The mercy that God mingles with his judgments. .When 
order was given that this tree should be cut down, it was 
commanded that the stump of the roots should be left in the 
earth, and protected with a band of iron and brass, that it 
might not be wholly given to decay, but that the source of 
future growth and greatness might be left. The day is com- 
ing when the wicked shall be cut down, and no such residue 
of hope be left them. No mercy will be mingled with their 
punishment. They shall be destroyed both root and branch. 

6. An important key to prophetic interpretation. Verse 
16. "Let seven times pass over him," said the decree. This 
is plain, literal narration; hence the time is here to be under- 
stood literally. How long a period is denoted? This may 
be determined by ascertaining how long Nebuchadnezzar, in 
fulfilment of this prediction, was driven out to have his dwell- 
ing with the beasts of the field; and this, Josephus informs us, 
was seven years. A " time," then, denotes one year. When 
used in symbolic prophecy, it would, of course, denote sym- 
bolic or prophetic time. A < 6 time ' ' would then denote a 
prophetic year, or, each day standing for a year, three hun- 
dred and sixty literal years. There will be occasion to refer 
to this fact under chapter 7 : 25. 

7. The interest that the holy ones, or the angels, take in 
human affairs. They are represented as demanding this deal- 
ing with Nebuchadnezzar. They see, as mortals never can 
see, how unseemly a thing is pride in the human heart. And 
they approve of, and sympathize with, the decrees and provi- 
dences of God by which he works for the correction of these 
evils. Man must know that he is not the architect of his own 
fortune, but that there is One who ruleth in the kingdom of 
men, on whom his dependence should be humbly placed. A 
man may be a successful monarch, but he should not pride 
himself upon that ; for unless the Lord had set him up, he 
would never have reached this position of honor. 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 19-27. 



89 



8. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the supremacy of the 
true God over the heathen oracles. He appeals to Daniel to 
solve the mystery. ' ' Thou art able, ' ' he says ; 4 ' for the spirit 
of the holy gods is in thee." The Septuagint has the singular, 
the Spirit of the holy God. 

Verse 19. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied 
for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, 
Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. 
Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate 
thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. 20. The tree that 
thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose hight reached unto the 
heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21. Whose leaves were 
fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all ; under which 
the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the 
heaven had their habitation : 22. It is thou, O king, that art grown and 
become strong ; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, 
and thy dominion to the end of the earth. 23. And whereas the king saw 
a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew 
the tree down, and destroy it ; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in 
the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the 
field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be 
with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him ; 24. This is the 
interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is 
come upon my lord the king ; 25. That they shall drive thee from men, 
and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, aod they shall make 
thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, 
and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High 
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26. 
And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots ; thy 
kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the 
heavens do rule. 27. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable 
unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities 
by showing mercy to the poor ; if it ma} r be a lengthening of thy tran- 
quillity. 

The hesitation of Daniel, who sat astonished for one hour, 
did not arise from any difficulty he had in interpreting the 
dream, but from its being so delicate a matter to make it 
known to the king. Daniel had received favor from the king,— 
nothing but favor, so far as we know, — and it came hard for 
him to be the bearer of so terrible a threatening of judgment 
against him as was involved in this dream. He was troubled 
to determine in what way he could best make it known. It 
seems the king anticipated something of this kind, and hence 



90 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

assured the prophet by telling him not to let the dream or the 
interpretation trouble him ; as if he had said, Do not hesitate 
to make it known, whatever bearing it may have upon me. 
Thus assured, Daniel speaks; and where can we find a paral- 
lel to the force and delicacy of his language : 1 4 The dream 
be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to 
thine enemies." A calamity is set forth in this dream, 
which we would might come upon your enemies rather than 
upon you. 

Nebuchadnezzar had given a minute statement of his 
dream; and as soon as Daniel informed him that the dream 
applied to himself, it w T as evident that he had pronounced his 
own sentence. The interpretation which follows is so plain 
that it need not detain us. The threatened judgments were 
conditional. They were to teach the king that the Heavens do 
rule, the word heavens here being put for God, the ruler of 
the heavens. Hence Daniel takes occasion to give the king 
counsel in view of the threatened judgment. But he does not 
denounce him with harshness and censoriousness. Kindness 
and persuasion are the weapons he chooses to wield : 4 ' Let my 
counsel be acceptable unto thee." So the apostle beseeches 
men to suffer the word of exhortation. Heb. 13 : 22. If the 
king would break off his sins by righteousness, and his iniqui- 
ties by showing mercy to the poor, it might result in a length- 
ening of his tranquillity, or, as the margin reads, ' ' An healing 
of thine error." That is, he might even have averted the judg- 
ment the Lord designed to bring upon him. 

Verse 28. All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29. At 
the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of 
Babylon. 30. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that 
I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, 
and for the honor of my majesty ? 31. While the word was in the king's 
mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, 
to thee it is spoken : The kingdom is departed from thee. 32. And they 
shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of 
the field ; they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times 
shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the 
kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33. The same 
hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar ; and he was driven 



CHAPTER 4. VERSES 2&-37, 



91 



from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew 
of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails 
like birds' claws. 

Nebuchadnezzar failed to profit by the warning he had 
received ; yet God bore with him twelve months before the 
blow fell. All the time he was cherishing pride in his heart, 
and at length it reached a climax beyond which God could not 
suffer it to pass. The king walked in the palace, and as he 
looked forth upon the wonders of that wonder of the world, 
great Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, he forgot the source 
of all his strength and greatness, and exclaimed, < ' Is not this 
great Babylon, that / have built \ " The time had come for his 
humiliation. A voice from heaven again announces the threat- 
ened judgment, and divine Providence proceeds immediately 
to execute it. His reason departed. JSTo longer the pomp 
and glory of his great city charmed him, when God with 
a touch of his finger took away his capability to appreciate 
and enjoy it. He forsook the dwellings of men, and sought 
a home and companionship among the beasts of the forest. 

Verse 34. And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up 
mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and 
I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for- 
ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is 
from generation to generation: 35. And all the inhabitants of the earth 
are reputed as nothing ; and he doeth according to his will in the army of 
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth ; and none can stay his 
hand, or say unto him, What doest thou ? 36. At the same time my rea- 
son returned unto me ; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and 
brightness returned unto me ; and my counselors and my lords sought 
unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty 
was added unto me. 37. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and 
honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judg- 
ment ; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. 

At the end of seven years, God removed his afflicting hand, 
and the reason and understanding of the king returned to him 
again. His first act then was to bless the Most High. On 
this Matthew Henry has the following appropriate remark : 
" Those may justly be reckoned void of understanding that do 
not bless and praise God; nor do men ever rightly use their 



92 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



reason till they begin to be religious, nor live as men till they 
live to the glory of God. As reason is the substratum or sub- 
ject of religion (so that creatures which have no reason are not 
capable of religion), so religion is the crown and glory of 
reason; and we have our reason in vain, and shall one day 
wish we had never had it, if we do not glorify God with it." 

His honor and brightness returned to him again, his coun- 
selors sought unto him, and he was once more established in 
the kingdom. The promise was (verse 26) that his kingdom 
should be sure unto him. During his insanity, his son, Evil- 
merodach, is said to have reigned as regent in his stead. 
Daniel's interpretation of the dream was doubtless well under- 
stood throughout the palace, and was probably more or less the 
subject of conversation. Hence the return of Nebuchadnezzar 
to his kingdom must have been anticipated, and looked for 
- with interest. Why he was permitted to make his home in 
the open field in so forlorn a condition, instead of being com- 
fortably cared for by the attendants of the palace, we are not 
informed. It is supposed that he dexterously escaped from the 
palace, and eluded all search. 

The affliction had its designed effect. The lesson of hu- 
mility was learned. He did not forget it with returning pros- 
perity. He was ready to acknowledge that the Most High 
rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he 
will ; and he sent forth through all his realm a royal proclama- 
tion, containing an acknowledgment of his pride, and a mani- 
festo of praise and adoration to the King of heaven. 

This is the last Scripture record we have of Nebuchadnez- 
zar. This decree is dated in the authorized version, says Dr. 
Clarke, 563 b. c, one year before Nebuchadnezzar's death; 
though some place the date of this decree seventeen years be- 
fore his death. Be this as it may, it is probable that he did 
not again relapse into idolatry, but died in the faith of the God 
of Israel. 

Thus closed the life of this remarkable man. With all the 
temptations incident to his exalted position as king, may we not 
suppose that God saw in him honesty of heart, integrity, and 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 28-37. 



93 



purity of purpose, which he could use to the glory of his name \ 
Hence his wonderful dealings with him, all of which seem to 
have been designed to wean him from his false religion, and 
attach him to the service of the true God. We have, first, his 
dream of the great image, containing such a valuable lesson 
for the people of all coming generations. Secondly, his expe- 
rience with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in reference to 
his golden image, wherein he was again led to an acknowledg- 
ment of the supremacy of the true God. And lastly, we have 
the wonderful incidents recorded in this chapter, showing the 
still unceasing efforts of the Lord to bring him to a full ac- 
knowledgment of himself. And may we not hope that the 
most illustrious king of the first prophetic kingdom, the head 
of gold, may at last have part in that kingdom before which all 
earthly kingdoms shall become as chaff, and the glory of which 
shall never dim % 




Verse 1. Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his 
lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 

j^p^HE chief feature of interest pertaining to this chapter is 
Ww> * ne ^ ac t * na ^ ^ describes the closing scenes of the Baby- 
%Jjp lonish empire, the transition from the gold to the silver 
of the great image of chapter 2, and from the lion to the bear 
of Daniel's vision in chapter 7. This feast is supposed by some 
to have been a stated annual festival, in honor of one of their 
deities. On this account, Cyrus, who was then besieging 
Babylon, learned of its approach, and knew when to lay his 
plans for the overthrow of the city. Our translation reads that 
Belshazzar, having invited a thousand of his lords, drank be- 
fore the thousand. Some translate it, "drank against the 
thousand," showing that whatever other propensities he may 
have had, he was, at least, an enormous drinker. 

Verse 2. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring 
the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken 
out of the temple which was in Jerusalem ; that the king, and his 
princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 3. Then 
they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the 
house of God which was in Jerusalem ; and the king, and his princes, 
his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4. They drank wine, and 
praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of 
stone. 

[94] 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 1-9. 



95 



That this festival had some reference to former victories 
over the Jews may be inferred from the fact that the king, 
when he began to be heated with his wine, called for the sa- 
cred vessels which had been taken from Jerusalem. It would 
be most likely that, lost to a sense of all sacred things, he 
would use them to celebrate the victory by which they were 
obtained. No other king, probably, had carried his impiety to 
such a hight as this. And while they drank wine from vessels 
dedicated to the true God, they praised their gods of gold, sil- 
ver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. Perhaps, as noticed on 
chapter 3 : 29, they celebrated the superior power of their gods 
over the God of the Jews, from whose vessels they now drank 
to their heathen deities. 

Verse 5. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and 
wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the 
king's palace ; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6. 
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled 
him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one 
against another. 7. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, 
the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the 
wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me 
the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain 
of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 8. 
Then came in all the king's wise men : but they could not read the writ- 
ing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. 9. Then 
.was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed 
in him, and his lords were astonied. 

No flashes of supernatural light, nor deafening peals of 
thunder, announced the interference of God in their impious 
revelries. A hand silently appeared, tracing mystic characters 
upon the wall. It wrote over against the candlestick. In the 
light of their own lamp they saw it. Terror seized upon the 
king; for his conscience accused him. Although he could not 
read the writing, he knew it was no message of peace and 
blessing that was traced in glittering characters upon his palace 
wall. And the description the prophet gives of the effect of 
the king's fear cannot be excelled in any particular. The 
king's countenance was changed, his heart failed him, pain 
seized upon him, and so violent was his trembling that his 



96 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



knees smote one against another. He forgot his boasting and 
revelry; he forgot his dignity; and he cried aloud for his as- 
trologers and soothsayers to solve the meaning of the terrible 
apparition. 

Verse 10. Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his 
lords came into the banquet house : and the queen spake and said, O king, 
live forever ; let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance 
be changed. 11. There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of 
the holy gods ; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and 
wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him ; whom the king 
Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of 
the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers ; 12. Forasmuch as 
an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of 
dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were 
found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar : now 
let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. 13. Then was 
Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto 
Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity 
of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? 14. I have 
even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light 
and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 15. And now 
the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they 
should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation 
thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing. 16. 
And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dis- 
solve doubts : now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me 
the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a 
chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. 

It appears from the circumstance here narrated, that the 
fact that Daniel was a prophet of God, had by some means 
been lost sight of at the court and palace. This was doubtless 
owing to his having been absent at Shushan in the province of 
Elam, as narrated in chapter 8:1, 2, 27, whither he had been 
sent to attend to the business of the kingdom there. The 
country being swept by the Persian army would compel his 
return to Babylon at this time. The queen who came in and 
made known to the king that there was such a person to whom 
appeal could be made for knowledge in supernatural things, is 
supposed to have been the queen mother, the daughter of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, in whose memory the wonderful part Daniel had 
acted in her father's reign would still be fresh and vivid. Nebu- 



CHAPTER 5. VERSES 10-24. 



97 



chadnezzar is here called Belshazzar's father, according to the 
then common custom of calling any paternal ancestor, father, 
and any male descendant, son. Xebuchadnezzar was in reality 
his grandfather. The king inquired of Daniel when he came 
in, if he was of the children of the captivity of Judah. Thus it 
seems to have been ordered, that while they were holding impi- 
ous revelry in honor of their false gods, a servant of the true 
God, and one whom they were holding in captivity, was called 
in to pronounce the merited judgment upon their wicked course. 

Verse 17. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy 
gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another ; yet I will read the 
writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18. 
O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a king- 
dom, and majesty, and glory, and honor; 19. And for the majesty that 
he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared be- 
fore him : whom he would he slew ; and whom he would he kept alive ; 
and whom he would he set up ; and whom he would he put down. 20. 
But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he 
was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: 
21. And he was driven from the sons of men ; and his heart was made like 
the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses : they fed him with 
grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven ; till he 
knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he 
appointeth over it whomsoever he will. 22. And thou his son, O Bel- 
shazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this ; 23. 
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven ; and they have 
brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy 
wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them ; and thou hast 
praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which 
see not, nor hear, nor know : and the God in whose hand thy breath is, 
and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified : 24. Then was the 
part of the hand sent from him ; and this writing was written. 

Daniel first of all disclaims the idea of being influenced by 
such motives as governed the soothsayers and astrologers. He 
says, Let thy rewards be to another. He wishes it distinctly 
understood that he does not enter upon the work of interpret- 
ing this matter on account of the offer of gifts and rewards. 
He then rehearses the experience of the king's grandfather, 
Xebuchadnezzar, as set forth in the preceding chapter. He 
told the king that though he knew all this, yet he had not 
humbled his heart, but had lifted up himself against the God 
7 



98 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



of heaven, and even carried his impiety so far as to profane 
his sacred vessels, praising the senseless gods of men's making, 
and failing to glorify the God in whose hands his breath was. 
For this reason, he tells him, it is, that the hand has been sent 
forth from that God whom he had daringly and insultingly 
challenged, to trace those characters of fearful, though hidden 
import. He then proceeds to explain the writing. 

Verse 25. And this" is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, 
TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 28. This is the interpretation of the thing: 
MENE ; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27. TEKEL ; 
Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28. PERES ; 
Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29. Then 
commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a 
chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, 
that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 

It is not known in what language this inscription was 
written. If it had been in Chaldaic, the king's wise men 
would have been able to read it. Dr. Clarke conjectures that 
it was written in the Samaritan, the true Hebrew, a language 
with which Daniel was familiar, as it was the character used 
by the Jews previous to the Babylonish captivity. It seems 
much more likely that it was a character strange to all the 
parties, and that it was specially made known to Daniel by 
the Spirit of the Lord. 

In this inscription each word stands for a short sentence. 
Mene, numbered ; Tekel, weighed ; Ujjharsin, from the root 
peres, divided. God, whom thou hast defied, has thy king- 
dom in his own hands, and has numbered its days and finished 
its course, just at the time thou thoughtest it at the hight of its 
prosperity. Thou, who hast lifted up thy heart in pride, as 
the great one of the earth, art weighed, and found lighter than 
vanity. Thy kingdom, which thou didst dream was to stand for- 
ever, is divided between the foes already waiting at thy gates. 
Notwithstanding this terrible denunciation, Belshazzar did not 
forget his promise, but had Daniel at once invested with the 
scarlet robe and chain of gold, and proclaimed him third ruler 
in the kingdom. This Daniel accepted, probably with a view 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 25-31. 



99 



to be better prepared to look after the interests of his people 
during the transition to the succeeding kingdom. 

Verse 30. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans 
slain. 31. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about three- 
score and two years old. 

The scene here so briefly mentioned is described in remarks 
on chapter 2, verse 39. While Belshazzar was indulging in 
his presumptuous revelry, while the angel's hand was tracing 
the doom of the empire on the walls of the palace, while Daniel 
was making known the fearful import of the heavenly writing, 
the Persian soldiery, through the emptied channel of the 
Euphrates, had made their way into the heart of the city, 
and were speeding forward with drawn swords to the palace 
of the king. Scarcely can it be said that they surprised him, 
for God had just forewarned him of his doom. But they 
found him and slew him; and with him the empire of Babylon 
ceased to be. 

As a fitting conclusion to this chapter, we give the follow- 
ing beautiful poetic description of Belshazzar 's feast, from the 
pen of Edwin Arnold, author of The Light of Asia. It was 
written in 1852, and obtained the Newdegate prize for an 
English poem on the Feast of Belshazzar, at University 
College, Oxford : — 

Not by one portal, or one path alone, 

God's holy messages to men are known ; 

Waiting the glances of his awful eyes, 

Silver-winged seraphs do him embassies ; 

And stars, interpreting his high behest, 

Guide the lone feet and glad the falling breast ; 

The rolling thunder and the raging sea 

Speak the stern purpose of the Deity, 

And storms beneath and rainbow hues above 

Herald his anger or proclaim his love ; 

The still small voices of the summer day, 

The red sirocco, and the breath of May, 

The lingering harmony in ocean shells, 

The fairy music of the meadow bells, 

Earth and void air, water and wasting flame, 

Have words to whisper, tongues to tell, his name. 



100 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Once, with no cloak of careful mystery, 
Himself was herald of his own decree ; 
The hand that edicts on the marble drew, 
Graved the stern sentence of their scorner too. 
Listen and learn ! Tyrants have heard the tale, 
And turned from hearing, terror-struck and pale ; 
Spiritless captives, sinking with the chain, 
Have read this page, and taken heart again. 

From sunlight unto starlight, trumpets told 

Her king's command in Babylon the old ; 

From sunlight unto starlight, west and east, 

A thousand satraps girt them for the feast, 

And reined their chargers to the palace hall 

Where king Belshazzar held high festival : 

A pleasant palace under pleasant skies, 

With cloistered courts and gilded galleries, 

And gay kiosk and painted balustrade 

For winter terraces and summer shade ; 

By court and terrace, minaret and dome, 

Euphrates, rushing from his mountain home, 

Rested his rage, and curbed his crested pride 

To belt that palace with his bluest tide ; 

Broad-fronted bulls with chiseled feathers barred, 

In silent vigil keeping watch and ward, 

Giants of granite, wrought by cunning hand, 

Guard in the gate and frown upon the land. 

Not summer's glow nor yellow autumn's glare 

Pierced the broad tamarisks that blossomed there ; 

The moonbeams, darting through their leafy screen, 

Lost half their silver in the softened green, 

And fell with lessened luster, broken light, 

Tracing quaint arabesque of dark and white, 

Or dimly tinting on the graven stones 

The pictured annals of Chaldean thrones. 

There, from the rising to the setting day, 

Birds of bright feathers sang the light away, 

And fountain waters on the palace floor 

Made even answer to the river's roar, 

Rising in silver from the crystal well, 

And breaking into spangles as they fell, 

Though now ye heard them not — for far along 

Rang the broad chorus of the banquet song, 

And sounds as gentle, echoes soft as these, 

Died out of hearing from the revelries. 

High on a throne of ivory and gold, 

From crown to footstool clad in purple fold, 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 25-31. 



Lord of the East from sea to distant sea, 
The king Belshazzar f easteth royally — 
And not that dreamer in the desert cave 
Peopled his paradise with pomp as brave ; 
Vessels of silver, cups of crusted gold, 
Blush with a brighter red than all they hold ; 
Pendulous lamps, like planets of the night, 
Flung on the diadems a fragrant light, 
Or, slowly swinging in the midnight sky, 
Gilded the ripples as they glided by. 
And sweet and sweeter rose the cittern's ring, 
Soft as the beating of a seraph's wing ; 
And swift and swifter in the measured dance 
The tresses gather and the sandals glance : 
And bright and brighter at the festal board 
The flagons bubble, and the wines are poured. 
No lack of goodly company was there, 
No lack of laughing eyes to light the cheer ; 
From Dara trooped they, from Daremma's grove, 
" The sons of battle and the moons of love ; " 1 
From where Arsissa's silver waters sleep 
To Imla's marshes and the inland deep, 
From pleasant Calah, and from Cattacene — 
The horseman's captain and the harem's queen. 



It seemed no summer-cloud of passing woe 
Could fling its shadow on so fair a show ; . 
It seemed the gallant forms that feasted there 
Were all too grand for woe, too great for care ; — 
Whence came the anxious eye, the altered tone, 
The dull presentiment no heart could own, 
That ever changed the smiling to a sigh 
Sudden as sea-bird flashing from the sky? 
It is not that they know the spoiler waits 
Harnessed for battle at the brazen gates ; 
It is not that they hear the watchman's call 
Mark the slow minutes on the leaguered wall : 
The clash of quivers and the ring of spears 
Make pleasant music in a soldier's ears, 
And not a scabbard hideth sword to-night 
That hath not glimmered in the front of fight. 
May not the blood of every beating vein 
Have quick foreknowledge of the coming pain, 
Even as the prisoned silver, 2 dead and dumb, 
Shrinks at cold winter's footfall ere he come? 

1 Haflz, the Persian Anacreon. 

2 The quicksilver in the tube of the thermometer. 



102 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



The king hath felt it, and the heart's unrest 

Heaved the broad purple of his belted breast. 

Sudden he speaks : "What ! doth the beaded juice 

Savor like hyssop, that ye scorn its use? 

Wear ye*so pitiful and sad a soul, 

That tramp of f oemen scares ye from the bowl ? 

Think ye the gods on yonder starry floor 

Tremble for terror when the thunders roar? 

Are we not gods? have we not fought with God? 

And shall we shiver at a robber's nod? 

No ; let them batter till the brazen bars 

Ring meny mocking of their idle wars. 

Their fall is fated for to-morrow's sun ; 

The lion rouses when his feast is done. 

Crown me a cup, and fill the bowls we brought 

From Judah's temple when the fight was fought; 

Drink, till the merry madness fill the soul, 

To Salem's conqueror in Salem's bowl ; 

Each from the goblet of a god shall sip, 

And Judah's gold tread heavy on the lip." 1 

The last loud answer dies along the line, 

The last light bubble bursts upon the wine, 

His eager lips are on the jeweled brink, — 

Hath the cup poison that he doubts to drink? 

Is there a spell upon the sparkling gold, 

That so his fevered fingers quit their hold? 

Whom sees he where he gazes? what is there, 

Freezing his vision into fearful stare? 

Follow his lifted arm and lighted eye, 

And watch with them the wondrous mystery. 

There cometh forth a hand, upon the stone 
Graving the symbols of a speech unknown. 
Fingers like mortal fingers, leaving there 
The blank wall flashing characters of fear ; 
And still it glideth silently and slow, 
And still beneath the spectral letters grow ; 
Now the scroll endeth ; now the seal is set ; 
The hand is gone ; the record tarries yet. 
As one who waits the warrant of his death, 
With pale lips parted and with bridled breath, 
They watch the sign, and dare not turn to seek 
Their fear reflected in their fellows' cheek, 
But stand as statues where the life is none, 
Half the jest uttered, half the laughter done, 



i " He never drinks 

But Timon's silver treads upon his lips." 

— Shakespeare, "Titus Andronicus." 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 25-31. 



10 



Half the flask empty, half the flagon poured, 
Each where the phantom found him at the board 
Struck into silence, as December's arm 
Curbs the quick ripples into crystal calm. 

With wand of ebony and sable stole, 
Chaldea's wisest scan the spectral scroll. 
Strong in the lessons of a lying art, 
Each comes to gaze, but gazes to depart ; 
And still for mystic sign and muttered spell 
The graven letters guard their secret well ; 
Gleam they for warning, glare they to condemn, 
God sj>eaketh, but he speaketh not for them. 

Oh ! ever, when the happy laugh is dumb, 
All the joy gone, and all the anguish come ; 
When strong adversity and subtle pain 
Wring the sad soul and rack the throbbing brain; 
When friends once faithful, hearts once all our own, 
Leave us to weep, to bleed and die alone ; 
When fears and cares the lonely thought employ, 
And clouds of sorrow hide the sun of joy ; 
When weary life, breathing reluctant breath, 
Hath no hope sweeter than the hope of death, — 
Then the best counsel and the last relief, 
To cheer the spirit or to cheat the grief, 
The only calm, the only comfort heard, 
Comes in the music of a woman's word, 
Like beacon-bell on some wild island shore, 
Silverly ringing in the tempest's roar ; 
Whose sound, borne shipward through the midnight gloom 
Tells of the path, and turns her from her doom. 

So in the silence of that awful hour, 

When baffled magic mourned its parted power, 

When kings were pale, and satraps shook for fear, 

A woman speaketh, and the wisest hear. 

She, the high daughter of a thousand thrones, 

Telling with trembling lip and timid tones 

Of him, the captive, in the feast forgot, 

Who readeth visions ; him whose wondrous lot 

Sends him to lighten doubt and lessen gloom, 

And gaze undazzled on the days to come ; 

Daniel, the Hebrew, such his name and race, 

Held by a monarch highest in his grace, 

He may declare — oh ! bid them quickly send, 

So may the mystery have happy end. 



104 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Calmly and silent as the fair, full moon 
Comes smiling upward in the sky of June, 
Fearfully as the troubled clouds of night 
Shrink from before the coming of its light, 
So through the hall the prophet passed along, 
So from before him fell the festal throng. 
By broken wassail-cup, and wine o'erthrown, 
Pressed he still onward for the monarch's throne ; 
His spirit failed him not, his quiet eye 
Lost not its light for earthly majesty ; 
His lip was steady and his accent clear — 
" The king hath needed me, and I am here." 

" Art thou the prophet? Read me yonder scroll, 
Whose undeciphered horror daunts my soul. 
There shall be guerdon for the grateful task, 
Fitted for me to give, for thee to ask,— 
A chain to deck thee, and a robe to grace, 
Thine the third throne, and thou the third in place." 
He heard, and turned him where the lighted wall 
Dimmed the red torches of the festival, 
Gazed on the sign with steady gaze and set; 
And he who quailed not at a kingly threat 
Bent the true knee and bowed the silver hair, 
For that he knew the King of kings was there ; 
Then nerved his soul the sentence to unfold, 
While his tongue trembled at the tale it told. 
And never tongue shall echo tale as strange 
Till that change cometh which shall never change. 

"Keep for thyself the guerdon and the gold; 
What God hath graved, God's prophet must unfold; 
Could not thy father's crime, thy father's fate, 
Teach thee the terror thou hast learned too late? 
Hast thou not read the lesson of his life, — 
Who wars with God shall strive a losing strife? 
His was a kingdom mighty as thine own, 
The sword his scepter and the earth his throne;' 
The nations trembled when his awful eye 
Gave to them leave to live or doom to die: 
The lord of life, the keeper of the grave, 
His frown could wither, and his smile could save. 
Yet, when his heart was hard, his spirit high, 
God drave him from his kingly majesty, 
Far from the brotherhood of fellow-men, 
To seek for dwelling in the desert den; 
Where the wild asses feed and oxen roam, 
He sought his pasture and he made his home; 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 25-31. 



105 



And bitter-biting frost and dews of night 

Schooled him in sorrow till he knew the right, — 

That God is ruler of the rulers still, 

And setteth up the sovereign that he will. 

Oh ! hadst thou treasured in repentant breast 

His pride and fall, his penitence and rest, 

And bowed submissive farJehovah's will, 

Then had thy scepter been a scepter still. 

But thou hast mocked the Majesty of heaven; 

And shamed the vessels to his service given. 

And thou hast fashioned idols of thine own, — 

Idols of gold, of silver, and of stone ; 

To them hast bowed the knee, and breathed the breath, 

And they must help thee in the hour of death. 

Woe for the sign unseen, the sin forgot ! 

God was among ye, and ye knew it not I 

Hear what he sayeth now : 4 Thy race is run, 

Thy years are numbered, and thy days are done; 

Thy soul hath mounted in the scale of fate, 

The Lord hath weighed thee, and thou lackest weight; 

Now in thy palace porch the spoilers stand, 

To seize thy scepter, to divide thy land.' " 

He ended, and his passing foot was heard, 

But none made answer, not a lip was stirred; 

Mute the free tongue, and bent the fearless brow; 

The mystic letters had their meaning now. 

Soon came there other sound, — the clash of steel, 

The heavy ringing of the iron heel, 

The curse in dying, and the cry for life, — 

The bloody voices of the battle strife. 

That night they slew him on his father's throne, 
The deed unnoticed and the hand unknown: 
Crownless and scepterless Belshazzar lay, 
A robe of purple round a form of clay. 



Verse 1. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and 
twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; 2. And over 
- these three presidents ; of whom Daniel was first ; that the princes might 
give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage, 3. Then 
this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an 
excellent spirit was in him ; and the king thought to set him over the 
whole realm. 4. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion 
against Daniel concerning the kingdom ; but they could find none occa- 
sion nor fault ; forasmuch as he*was faithful, neither was there any error 
or fault found in him. 5. Then said these men, We shall not find any 
occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning 
the law of his God. 



~^T^J ABYLON was taken by the Persians, and Darius the 



Median placed upon the throne, b. c. 538. Two years 



— later, b. c. 536, Darius dying, Cyrus took the throne. 
Somewhere, therefore, between these two dates the event here 
narrated occurred. 

Daniel was a chief actor in the kingdom of Babylon in the 
hight of its glory; and from that time on, to the time when 
the Medes and Persians took the throne of universal empire, 
he was at least a resident of that city, and acquainted with all 
the affairs of the kingdom ; yet he gives us no consecutive 
account of events that occurred during his long connection with 
these kingdoms. He only touches upon an event here and 
there such as is calculated to inspire faith and hope and cour- 




[106] 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 1-10. 



107 



age in the hearts of the people of God in every age, and lead 
them to be steadfast in their adherence to the right. 

The event narrated in this chapter is alluded to by the 
apostle Paul in Hebrews 11, where he speaks of some who 
through faith have "stopped the mouths of lions." Darius 
set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, there 
being, as is supposed, at that time a hundred and twenty 
provinces in the empire, each one having its prince, or gov- 
ernor. By the victories of Cambyses and Darius Hystaspes, 
it was afterward enlarged to a hundred and twenty-seven prov- 
inces. Esther 1:1. Over these one hundred and twenty 
princes were set three, and of these Daniel was chief. Pref- 
erence was given to Daniel because of his excellent spirit. 
Daniel, who, for being a great man in the empire of Babylon, 
might have been esteemed an enemy by Darius, and so have 
been banished or otherwise put out of the way ; or, being a 
captive from a nation then in ruins, might have been despised 
and set at naught, was not treated in either of these ways; but 
to the credit of Darius be it said, Daniel was preferred over 
all the others, because the discerning king saw in him an 
excellent spirit. And the king thought to set him 'over the 
whole realm. Then was the envy of the other rulers raised 
against him, and they set about to destroy him. But Daniel's 
conduct was perfect so far as related to the kingdom. He was 
faithful and true. They could find no ground for complaint 
against him on that score. Then they said they could find no 
occasion to accuse him, except as concerning the law of his 
God. So let it be with us. A person can have no better 
recommendation. 

Verse G. Then these presidents and princes assembled together to 
the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live forever. 7. All the 
presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, 
and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and 
to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or 
man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of 
lions. 8. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it 
be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which 
altereth not. 9. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 



108 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



10. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his 
house ; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he 
kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks 
before his God, as he did aforetime. 

Mark the course these persons took to accomplish their 
nefarious purposes. They came together to the king, — came 
tumultuously, says the margin. They came as though some 
urgent matter had suddenly come up, and they had come 
unanimously to present it before him. They claimed that all 
were agreed. This was false ; for Daniel, the chief of them 
all, was not, of course, consulted in the matter. The decree 
they fixed upon was one which would flatter the king's vanity, 
and thus the more readily gain his assent. It would be a posi- 
tion before unheard of, for a man to be the only dispenser of 
favors and granter of petitions for thirty days. Hence the 
king, not fathoming their evil designs, signed the decree, and 
it took its place on the statute-book as one of the unalterable 
laws of the Medes and Persians. 

Mark the subtlety of these men — the length to which 
people will go to accomplish the ruin of the good. If they 
had made the decree read that no petition should be asked of 
the God of the Hebrews, which was the real design of the 
matter, the king would at once have divined their object, 
and the decree would not have been signed. So they gave 
it a general application, and were willing to ignore and heap 
insult upon their whole system of religion, and all the multi- 
tude of their gods, for the sake of ruining the object of their 
hatred. 

Daniel foresaw the conspiracy going on against him, but 
took no means to thwart it. He simply committed himself to 
God, and left the issue to his providence. He did not leave 
the empire on pretended business, or perform his devotions 
with more than ordinary secrecy ; but when he knew the writing 
was signed, just as aforetime, with his face turned toward his 
beloved Jerusalem, he kneeled down in his chamber three 
times a day, and poured out his prayers and supplications 
to God. 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 11-17. 



109 



Verse 11. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and 
making supplication before his God. 12. Then they came near, and spake 
before the king concerning the king's decree : Hast thou not signed a 
decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within 
thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions ? The 
king answered and said, The thing is tr.ue ; according to the law of the 
Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 13. Then answered they and 
said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the cap- 
tivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast 
signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. 14. Then the king, 
when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his 
heart on Daniel to deliver him ; and he labored till the going down of the 
sun to deliver him. 15. Then these men assembled unto the king, and 
said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Per- 
sians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be 
changed. 16. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, 
and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto 
Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. 
17. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den ; and 
the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords, 
that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 

It only remained for these men, having set the trap, to 
watch their victim that they might ensnare him therein. So 
they again came tumultuously together, this time at the resi- 
dence of Daniel, as though some important business had called 
them suddenly together to consult the chief of the presidents; 
and lo, they found him, just as they intended and hoped, pray- 
ing to his God. So far all had worked well. They were not 
long in going to the king with the matter, and, to render it 
more sure, got an acknowledgment from the king that such a 
decree was in force. Then they were ready to inform against 
Daniel; and mark their mean resort to excite the prejudices of 
the king : " That Daniel, which is of the children of the 
captivity of Judah." Yes; that poor captive, who is entirely 
dependent on you for all that he enjoys, so far from being 
grateful and appreciating your favors, regards not you, nor 
pays any attention to your decree. Then the king saw the 
trap that had been prepared for him as well as for Daniel, 
and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him, 
probably by personal efforts with the conspirators to cause 
them to relent, or by arguments and endeavors to procure the 



110 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

repeal of the law. But they were inexorable. The law was 
sustained; and Daniel, the venerable, the grave, the upright 
and faultless servant of the kingdom, was thrown, as if he had 
been one of the vilest of malefactors, into the den of lions to 
be devoured by them. 

Verse 18. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night 
fasting ; neither' were instruments of music brought before him; and 
his sleep went from him. 19. Then the king arose very early in the 
morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. 20. And when he 
came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel ; and the 
king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is 
thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the 
lions ? 21. Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. 22. 
My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they 
have not hurt me ; forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me ; 
and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. 23. Then was the king 
exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel 
up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no man- 
ner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. 24. 
And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had 
accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their 
children, and their wives : and the lions had the mastery of them, and 
brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the 
den. 

The course of the king after Daniel had been cast into the 
den of lions attests his genuine interest in his behalf, and the 
severe condemnation he felt for his own course in the matter. 
At earliest dawn he repaired to the den where his prime min- 
ister had passed the night in company with hungry and rav- 
enous beasts. Daniel's response to his first salutation was no 
word of reproach for the king's course in yielding to his perse- 
cutors, but a term of respect and honor, 4t O king, live forever. " 
He afterward, however, reminds the king, in a manner which 
he must have keenly felt, but to which he could take no ex- 
ception, that before him he had done no hurt. And on account 
of his innocency, God, whom he served continually, not at in- 
tervals, nor by fits and starts, had sent his angel, and shut the 
lions' mouths. 

Here, then, stood Daniel, preserved by a power higher than 
any power of earth. His cause was vindicated, his innocency 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 18-28. 



Ill 



declared. No hurt was found on him, because he believed in 
his God. Faith did it. A miracle had been wrought. Why, 
then, were Daniel's accusers brought and cast in % It is con- 
jectured that they attributed the preservation of Daniel, not to 
any miracle in his behalf, but to the fact that the lions chanced 
at that time not to be hungry. Then, said the king, they will 
no more attack you than him, so we will test the matter by put- 
ting you in. The lions were hungry enough when they could 
get hold of the guilty; and these men were torn to pieces ere 
they reached the bottom of the den. Thus was Daniel doubly 
vindicated; and thus strikingly were the words of Solomon 
fulfilled : ' ' The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the 
wicked cometh in his stead." Prov. 11 : 8. 

Verse 25. Then king- Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and lan- 
guages, that dwell in all the earth : Peace be multiplied unto you. 26. I 
make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and 
fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and steadfast for- 
ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his domin- 
'ion shall be even unto the end. 27. He delivereth and rescueth, and he 
worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered 
Daniel from the power of the lions. 28. So this Daniel prospered in the 
reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. 

The result of Daniel's deliverance was that another procla- 
mation went out through the empire in favor of the true God, 
the God of Israel. All men were to fear and tremble before 
him. What Daniel's enemies designed to prove his ruin, re- 
sulted only in his advancement. In this case, and in the case 
of the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace, the seal of God is set 
in favor of two great lines of duty : (1) As in the case of the 
three in the fiery furnace, not to yield to any known. sin; and 
(2) As in the present case, not to omit any known duty. And 
from these instances, the people of God in all ages are to 
derive encouragement. 

The decree of the king sets forth the character of the true 
God in fine terms. (1) He is the living God; all others are 
dead. (2) He is steadfast forever ; all others change. (3) He 
has a kingdom; for he made and governs all. (4) His kingdom 
shall not be destroyed; all others come to an end. (5) His do- 



112 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



minion is without end; no human power can prevail against it. 
(6) He delivereth those who are in bondage. (7) He rescueth 
his servants from their enemies when they call upon him for 
help. (8) He worketh wonders in the heavens and signs upon 
the earth. (9) And to complete all, he hath delivered Daniel, 
giving before our own eyes the fullest proof of his power and 
goodness in rescuing his servant from the power of the lions. 
How excellent an eulogium is this on the great God and his 
faithful servant ! 

Thus closes the historical part of the book of Daniel. We 
now come to the prophetic portion, which, like a shining bea- 
con light, has thrown its rays over all the course of time from 
that point to the present, and is still lighting up the pathway 
of the church onward to the eternal kingdom. 




Verse 1. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had 
a dream and visions of his head upon his bed ; then he wrote the dream, 
and told the sum of the matters. 



?5T?fHIS is the same Belshazzar mentioned in chapter 5. 
Chronologically, therefore, this chapter follows chapter 
A 5; but chronological order has been disregarded in 
order that the historical part of the book might stand by itself, 
and the prophetic part, on which we now enter, might not be 
interrupted by writings of that nature. 

Terse 2. Daniel spake and said, I saw in" my vision by night, and, 
behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3. And 
four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 

All Scripture language is to be taken literally, unless there 
exists some good reason for supposing it to be figurative; and 
all that is figurative is to be interpreted by that which is literal. 
That the language here used is symbolic, is evident from verse 
17, which reads, " These great beasts, which are four, are four 
kings which shall arise out of the earth." And to show that 
kingdoms are intended, and not merely individual kings, the 
angel continued, ' ' But the saints of the Most High shall take 
the kingdom." And further, in the explanation in verse 23, 
the angel said, i ' The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom 
upon the earth." These beast are therefore symbols of four 
8 [113] 



114 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



great kingdoms ; and the circumstances under which they 
arose, and the means by which their elevation was accom- 
plished, as represented in the prophecy, are symbolic also. 
The symbols introduced are, the four winds, the sea, four 
great beasts, ten horns, and another horn which had eyes and 
a mouth, and rose up in war against God and his people. We 
have now to inquire what they denote. 

Winds, in symbolic language, denote strife, political com- 
motion, and war. Jer. 25 : 31, 32, 33 : "Thus saith the Lord 
of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and 
a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the 
earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from 
one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth." 
Here the prophet speaks of a controversy which the Lord is to 
have with all nations, when the wicked shall be given to the 
sword, and the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the 
earth to the other; and the strife and commotion which pro- 
duces all this destruction is called a great whirlwind. 

That winds denote strife and war is further evident from a 
consideration of the vision itself; for as the result of the striv- 
ing of the winds, kingdoms arise and fall; and these events 
are accomplished through political strife. 

The Bible definition of sea, or waters, when used as a sym- 
bol, is, peoples, and nations, and tongues. In proof of this, 
see Kev. 17 : 15, where it is expressly so declared. 

The definition of the symbol of the four beasts is given to 
Daniel ere the close of the vision. Yerse IT: "These great 
beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of 
the earth." The field of the vision is thus definitely opened 
before us. 

Verse 4. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings : I beheld 
till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, 
and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 

As these beasts denote four kings, or kingdoms, we inquire, 
What four ? Where shall we commence to enumerate ? These 
beasts do not rise all at once, but consecutively, as they are 




THE 



BEAR — SYflBOL OF HEDO=PERSIA. 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 1-5. 



115 



spoken of as first, second, etc. ; and the last one is in existence 
when all earthly scenes are brought to an end by the final 
Judgment. Now, from the time of Daniel, to the end of this 
world's history, there were to be but four universal kingdoms, 
as we learn from Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great image 
in chapter 2. Daniel was still living under the same king- 
dom which he had declared, in his interpretation of the king's 
dream, about sixty-five years before, to be the head of gold. 
The first beast of this vision must therefore denote the same 
as the head of gold of the great image, namely, the kingdom of 
Babylon, and the other beasts the succeeding kingdoms shown 
by that image. But if this vision covers essentially the same 
ground as the image of chapter 2, the query may arise why 
it is given ; why was not the vision of chapter 2 sufficient ? 
We answer, The ground is passed over again and again that 
additional characteristics may be brought out, and additional 
facts and features may be presented. It is thus that we have 
' ' line upon line. ' ' Here earthly governments are viewed aa 
represented in the light of Heaven. Their true character is 
shown by the symbol of wild and ravenous beasts. 

At first the lion had eagle's wings, denoting the rapidity 
with which Babylon extended its conquests under Nebuchad- 
nezzar. At this point in the vision a change had taken place; 
its wings had been plucked. It no longer flew like an eagle 
upon its prey. The boldness and spirit of the lion were gone. 
A man's heart, weak, timorous, and faint, had taken its place. 
Such was emphatically the case with the nation during the clos- 
ing years of its history, when it had become enfeebled and 
effeminate through wealth and luxury. 

Verse 5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it 
raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it 
between the teeth of it ; and they said thus unto it, x\rise, devour much 
flesh. 

As in the great image of chapter 2, so in this series of sym- 
bols, a marked deterioration will be noticed as we descend from 
one kingdom to another. The silver of the breast and arms 



116 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL, 



was inferior to the gold of the head. The bear was inferior 
to the lion. Medo-Persia fell short of Babylon in wealth and 
magnificence, and the brilliancy of its career. And now we 
come to additional particulars respecting this power. The bear 
raised itself up on one side. This kingdom was composed of 
two nationalities, the Medes and the Persians. The same fact 
is represented by the two horns of the ram of chapter 8. Of 
these horns it is said that the higher came up last; and of the 
bear that it raised itself up on one side; and this was fulfilled 
by the Persian division of the kingdom, which came up last, 
but attained the higher eminence, becoming the controlling 
influence in the nation. (See on chapter 8:3.) The three ribs 
perhaps signify the three provinces of Babylon, Lydia, and 
Egypt, which were especially ground down and oppressed by 
this power. Their saying unto it, "Arise, devour much flesh," 
' would naturally refer to the stimulus given to the Medes and 
Persians, by the overthrow of these provinces, to plan and 
undertake more extensive conquests. The character of the 
power is well represented by a bear. The Medes and Persians 
were cruel and rapacious, robbers and spoilers of the people. 
As already noticed in the exposition of chapter 2, this kingdom 
dated from the overthrow of Babylon by Cyrus, b. c. 538, and 
continued to the battle of Arbela, b. c. 331, a period of 207 
years. 

Verse 6. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which 
had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl ; the beast had also four 
heads ; and dominion was given to it. 

The third kingdom, Grecia, is represented by this symbol. 
If wings upon the lion signified rapidity of conquest, they 
would signify the same here. The leopard itself is a swift- 
footed beast, but this was not sufficient to represent the career 
of the nation which it symbolized in this respect; it must have 
wings in addition. Two wings, the number the lion had, were 
not sufficient, it must have four ; this would denote unparal- 
leled celerity of movement, which we find to be historically 
true of the Grecian kingdom. The conquests of Grecia under 



THE LEOPARD — SYMBOL OF GRECIA. 



THE FOURTH BEAST — SYHBOL OF RONE. 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 6, 7. 



117 



Alexander have no parallel in historic annals for suddenness 
and rapidity. 

Rollin, Ancient History, b. 15, sec. 2, gives the following 
brief synopsis of Alexander's marches: — 

£ 'From Macedonia to the Ganges, which river Alexander 
nearly approached, is computed at least eleven hundred leagues. 
Add to this the various turnings in Alexander's marches; first, 
from the extremity of Cilicia, where the battle of Issus was 
fought, to the temple of Jupiter Ammon in Libya; and his re- 
turning from thence to Tyre, a journey of three hundred 
leagues at least, and as much space at least for the windings 
of his route in different places; we shall find that Alexander, 
in less than eight years, marched his army upward of seven- 
teen hundred leagues [or more than fifty -one hundred miles], 
without including his return to Babylon." 

"The beast had also four heads." The Grecian empire 
maintained its unity but little longer than the lifetime of Alex- 
ander. Within fifteen years after his brilliant career ended in 
a fever induced by a drunken debauch, the empire was divided 
among his four leading generals. Cassander had Macedon and 
Greece in the west; Lysimachus had Thrace and the parts of 
Asia on the Hellespont and Bosporus in the north; Ptolemy 
received Egypt, Lydia, Arabia, Palestine, and Coele-Syria in 
the south; and Seleucus had Syria and all the rest of Alex- 
ander's dominions in the east. These divisions were denoted 
by the four heads of the leopard, b. c. 308. 

Thus accurately were the words of the prophet fulfilled. 
As Alexander left no available successor, why did not the huge 
empire break up info countless petty fragments ? Why into just 
four parts, and no more ? — Because the prophecy had said that 
there should be four. The leopard had four heads, the rough 
goat four horns, the kingdom was to have four divisions; and 
thus it was. (See more fully on chapter 8.) 

Verse 7. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth 
beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly : and it had great iron 
teeth ; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with 



118 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



the feet of it ; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it ; 
and it had ten horns. 

Inspiration finds no beast in nature which it can make even 
the basis of a symbol to represent the power here illustrated. 
No addition of hoofs, heads, horns, wings, scales, teeth, or nails 
to any beast found in nature, would answer. This power was 
diverse from all the others, and the symbol wholly nondescript. 

The foundation for a volume is laid in verse 7, just quoted; 
but we are compelled to treat it the more briefly here, be- 
cause anything like a full history is entirely beyond the space 
that can be allowed in this brief exposition. This beast, of 
course, corresponds to the fourth division of the great image — 
the legs of iron. Under chapter 2 : 40 are given some reasons 
for supposing this power to be Koine. The same reasons are 
applicable to the present prophecy. How accurately Rome 
answered to the iron division of the image ! How accurately it 
answers to the beast before us ! In the dread and terror which 
it inspired, and in its exceeding strength, the world has never 
seen its equal. It devoured as with iron teeth, and brake in 
pieces; and it ground the nations into the very dust beneath 
its brazen feet. It had ten horns, which are explained in 
verse 24 to be ten kings, or kingdoms, which should arise out 
of this empire. As already noticed in chapter 2, Rome was 
divided into ten kingdoms, enumerated as follows: The Huns, 
the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Franks, the Vandals, the 
Suevi, the Burgundians, the Heruli, the Anglo-Saxons, and the 
Lombards. These divisions have ever since been spoken of as 
the ten kingdoms of the Roman empire. a. d. 351-483. 
See on chapter 2 : 41, 42; also Appendix III. 

Verse 8. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among 
them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns 
plucked up by the roots ; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the 
eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. 

Daniel considered the horns. Indications of a strange move- 
ment appeared among them. A little horn (at first little, but 
afterward more stout than its fellows) thrust itself up among 



THE LITTLE HORN -SYMBOL OF THE PAPACY. 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 8-10. 



119 



them. It was not content quietly to find a place of its own, and 
fill it; it must thrust aside some of the others, and usurp their 
places. Three kingdoms were plucked up before it. This little 
horn, as we shall have occasion to notice more fully hereafter, 
was the papacy. The three horns plucked up before it were 
the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Yandals. And the reason 
why they were plucked up was because they were opposed to 
the arrogant claims of the papal hierarchy, and hence to the 
supremacy in the church of the bishop of Rome. 

And ' 4 in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a 
mouth speaking great things," — the eyes, a fit emblem of the 
shrewdness, penetration, cunning, and foresight of the papal 
hierarchy; and the mouth speaking great things, a fit symbol 
of the arrogant claims of the bishops of Rome. 

Verse 9. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient 
of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his 
head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his 
wheels as burning fire. 10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from 
before him ; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand 
times ten thousand stood before him ; the judgment was set, and the 
books were opened. 

A sublimer description of a sublimer scene is not to be 
found in the English language. But not only on account of 
the grand and lofty imagery introduced should it arrest our 
attention; the nature of the scene itself is such as to demand 
most serious consideration. The Judgment is brought to view; 
and whenever the Judgment is mentioned, it ought to take an 
irresistible hold upon every mind; for all have an interest in its 
eternal issues. 

By an unfortunate translation in verse 9, a wrong idea is 
almost sure to be conveyed. The words cast down are from a 
word which in the original signifies just the opposite, namely, 
to set up. The word n ?"? \fmaK\ Gesenius defines as follows : 
« Chald. 1. To cast, to throw, Dan 3 : 20, 21, 24 ; 6 : 17. 2. 
To set, to jplace, e. g., thrones, Dan. 7 : 9. Comp. Rev. 4 : 2, 
&g6vos eiceito and n Tx No. 2." The Analytical Hebrew and Chal- 
dee Lexicon, by Davidson, also gives to this word the definition 



120 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



' w to set, to place, ' ' and refers to Dan. 7 : 9 as an example of 
its use in this sense. Why this word was used to express the 
idea here intended may perhaps be learned from the following 
note found in the Cottage Bible : " Yer. 9. The thrones were 
cast down. Wintle, ' Were placed.' So Boothroyd. But both 
come to the same meaning. The Asiatics have neither chairs 
nor stools, but, to receive persons of rank, 'cast down,' or 
'place,' cushions round the room for seats, which seems to 
be here alluded to. See Matt. 19:28; Kev. 20:4." Dr. 
Clarke says that the word ' ' might be translated erected; so the 
Yulgate, positi stmt [were placed] , and so all the versions. ' ' 
The Septuagint has fre-dyaav (etethesan), which is defined to 
mean ' ' to set, put, place ; to set up ; to erect. ' ' The thrones 
are not the thrones of earthly kingdoms, which are to be 
thrown down at the last day, but thrones of judgment, which 
are to be " placed, ' ' or set up, in the court of God on high 
just before the end. 

The "Ancient of days," God the Father, takes the throne 
of judgment. Mark the description of his person. Those who 
believe in the impersonality of God are obliged to admit that 
he is here described as a personal being ; but they console 
themselves by saying that it is the only description of the kind 
in the Bible. We do not admit this latter assertion ; but 
granting that it were true, is not one description of this kind 
as fatal to their theory as though it were repeated a score of 
times ? The thousand thousands who minister unto him, and 
the ten thousand times ten thousand who stand before him, are 
not sinners arraigned before the judgment-seat, but heavenly 
beings who wait before him, attendant on his will. An under- 
standing of these verses involves an understanding of the sub- 
ject of the sanctuary; and to works on this question we refer 
the reader. The closing up of the ministration of Christ, our 
great High Priest, in the heavenly sanctuary, is the work of 
judgment here introduced. It is an investigative judgment. 
The books are opened, and the cases of all come up for exami- 
nation before that great tribunal, that it may be determined 
beforehand who are to receive eternal life when the Lord shall 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 11, 12. 



121 



come to confer it upon his people. John, as recorded in Rev- 
elation 5, had a view of this same place, and saw the same 
number of heavenly attendants engaged with Christ in the 
work of investigative judgment. Looking into the sanctuary 
(as we learn from Revelation 4 that he was doing), in chapter 
5 : 11 he says, "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many 
angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders; 
and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, 
and thousands of thousands. ' 5 

It will appear from the testimony of chapter 8 : 14, that 
this solemn work is even now transpiring in the sanctuary 
above. 

Verse 11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which 
the horn spake ; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body de- 
stroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12. As concerning the rest of 
the beasts, they had their dominion taken away ; yet their lives were pro- 
longed for a season and time. 

There are persons who believe in a thousand years' triumph 
of the gospel and reign of righteousness over all the world 
before the Lord comes; and there are others who believe in 
probation after the Lord comes, and a mixed millennium, the 
immortal righteous still proclaiming the gospel to mortal sin- 
ners, and turning them into the way of salvation. But both of 
these systems of error are completely demolished by the verses 
before us. 

1. The fourth terrible beast continues without change of 
character, and the little horn continues to utter its blasphemies, 
and hold its millions of votaries in the bonds of a blind super- 
stition, till the beast is given to the burning flame; and this is 
not its conversion, but its destruction. (See 2 Thess. 2:8.) 

2. The life of the fourth beast is not prolonged after its 
dominion is gone, as were the lives of the preceding beasts. 
Their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged 
for a season. The territory and subjects of the Babylonian 
kingdom still existed, though made subject to the Persians. 
So of the Persian kingdom in respect to Grecia, and of Grecia 
in respect to Rome. But what succeeds the fourth kingdom \ 



122 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



— No government or state in which mortals have any part. 
Its career ends in the lake of fire, and it has no existence be- 
yond. The lion was merged into the bear; the bear into the 
leopard; the leopard into the fourth beast; and the fourth beast 
into what \ — Not into another beast ; but it is cast into the 
lake of fire, under which destruction it rests till men shall suf- 
fer the second death. Then let no one talk of probation or a 
mixed millennium after the Lord comes. 

The adverb then, in the sentence, "I beheld then because 
of the voice of the great words which the horn spake," etc., 
seems to refer to some particular time. The work of the investi- 
gative judgment is introduced in the previous verses; and this 
verse would seem to imply that while this work is going for- 
ward, and just before this power is destroyed and given to the 
burning flame, the little horn utters its great words against the 
Most High. Have we not heard them, and that, too, within a 
few years ? Look at the decrees of the Vatican Council of 
1870. What can be more blasphemous than to attribute in- 
fallibility to a mortal man ? Yet in that year the world beheld 
the spectacle of an Ecumenical Council assembled for the pur- 
pose of deliberately decreeing that the occupant of the papal 
throne, the man of sin, possesses this prerogative of God, and 
cannot err. Can anything be more presumptuous and blas- 
phemous % Is not this the voice of the great words which the 
horn spake ? and is not this power ripe for the burning flame, 
and near its end \ 

Verse 13. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son 
of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of 
days, and they brought him near before him. 14. And there was given 
him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and 
languages should serve him : his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be 
destroyed. 

The scene here described is not the second advent of Christ 
to this earth, unless the Ancient of days is on this earth; for 
it is a coming to the Ancient of days. There, in the presence 
of the Ancient of days, a kingdom, dominion, and glory are 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 13-18. 



123 



given him. The Son of man receives his kingdom before his 
return to this earth. (See Luke 19 : 10-12 and onward.) This 
is a scene, therefore, which transpires in the heavenly temple, 
and is closely connected with that brought to view in verses 9 
and 10. He receives the kingdom at the close of his priestly 
work in the sanctuary. The people, nations, and languages, 
that shall serve him, are the nations of the saved (Rev. 21 : 24), 
not the wicked nations of the earth; for these are dashed in 
pieces at the second advent. Some out of all the nations, 
tribes, and kindreds of the earth will find themselves at last in 
the kingdom of God, to serve him there with joy and gladness 
forever and ever. 

Verse 15. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, 
and the visions of my head troubled me. 16. I came near unto one of 
them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, 
and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17. These great 
beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 
18. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess 
the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. 

No less anxious should we be than was Daniel to under- 
stand the truth of all this. And whenever we inquire with 
equal sincerity of heart, we shall find the Lord no less ready 
now than in the days of the prophet to lead to a correct 
knowledge of these important truths. The beasts, and the 
kingdoms which they represent, have already been explained. 
We have followed the prophet down through the course of 
events, even to the complete destruction of the fourth and last 
beast, the final subversion of all earthly governments. What 
next ? Terse 18 tells us : " The saints shall take the kingdom. ' ' 
The saints ! those of all others held in low esteem in this world, 
despised, reproached, persecuted, cast out ; those who were 
considered the least likely of all men ever to realize their 
hopes ; these shall take the kingdom, and possess it forever. 
The usurpation and misrule of the wicked shall come to an 
end. The forfeited inheritance shall be redeemed. Peace 
shall be restored to its distracted borders, and righteousness 
shall reign over all the fair expanse of the renovated earth. 



124 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Verse 19. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which 
was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were 
of iron, and his nails of brass ; which devoured, brake in pieces, and 
stamped the residue with his feet ; 20. And of the ten horns that were 
in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three 
fell ; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great 
things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 

Of the first three beasts of this series, Daniel had so clear 
an understanding that he had no trouble in reference to them. 
But he was astonished at this fourth beast, so unnatural and 
dreadful; for the further we come down the stream of time, 
the further it is necessary to depart from nature in forming 
symbols to represent accurately the degenerating governments 
of this earth. The lion is a production of nature; but it must 
have the unnatural addition of two wings • to represent the 
kingdom of Babylon. The bear we also find in nature; but 
as a symbol of Medo-Persia an unnatural ferocity must be 
denoted by the insertion of three ribs into its mouth. So the 
leopard is a beast of nature; but fitly to represent Grecia there 
is a departure from nature in respect to wings, and the number 
of heads. But nature furnishes no symbol which can fitly 
illustrate the fourth kingdom. A beast the likeness of which 
never was seen, is taken; a beast dreadful and terrible, with 
nails of brass, and teeth of iron, so cruel, rapacious, and fierce, 
that from mere love of oppression it devoured, and brake in 
pieces, and trampled its victims beneath its feet. 

Wonderful was all this to the prophet; but something still 
more wonderful appeared. A little horn came up, and, true to 
the nature of the beast from which it sprang, thrust aside 
three of its fellows ; and lo ! the horn had eyes, not the uncul- 
tivated eyes of a brute, but the keen, shrewd, intelligent eyes 
of a man; and, stranger yet, it had a mouth, and with that 
mouth it uttered proud sayings, and put forth preposterous 
and arrogant claims. No wonder the prophet made special 
inquiry respecting this monster, so unearthly in its instincts, 
and so fiendish in its works and ways. In the following verses 
some specifications are given respecting the little horn, which 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 19-22. 



125 



enable the student of prophecy to make an application of this 
symbol without danger of mistake. 

Verse 21. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, 
and prevailed against them ; 22. Until the Ancient of days came, and 
judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came 
that the saints possessed the kingdom. 

The wonderful wrath of this little horn against the saints 
particularly attracted the attention of Daniel. The rise of the 
ten horns, or the division of Rome into ten kingdoms, between 
the years a. d. 351 and 483, has already been noticed. (See on 
chapter 2 : 41.) As these horns denote kingdoms, the little horn 
must denote a kingdom also, but not of the same nature, be- 
cause it was diverse from the others. They were political king- 
doms. And now we have but to inquire if any kingdom has 
arisen among the ten kingdoms of the Roman empire since 
a. d. 483, and yet diverse from them all; and if so, what one. 
The answer is, Yes ; the spiritual kingdom of the papacy. 
This answers to the symbol in every particular, as is easily 
proved ; and nothing else will do it. See the specifications 
more particularly mentioned on verse 23. 

Daniel beheld this horn making war upon the saints. Has 
such a war been waged by the papacy ? Fifty million mar- 
tyrs, with a voice like the sound of many waters, answer, Yes. 
Witness the cruel persecutions of the Waldenses, the Albigen- 
ses, and Protestants in general, by the papal power. It is 
stated on good authority that the persecutions, massacres, and 
religious wars excited by the church and bishop of Rome, have 
occasioned the shedding of far more blood of the saints of the 
Most High, than all the enmity, hostility, and persecutions of 
professed heathens from the foundation of the world. 

In verse 22 three consecutive events seem to be brought to 
view. Daniel, looking onward from the time when the little 
horn was in the hight of its power, to the full end of the long 
contest between the saints and Satan with all his agents, notes 
three prominent events that stand as mile-posts along the way. 



126 



PROPHECY OF DAXIEL. 



(1) The coming of the Ancient of days ; that is, the position 
which Jehovah takes in the opening of the judgment scene 
described in verses 9, 10. (2) The judgment that is given to 
the saints; that is, the time when the saints sit with Christ in 
judgment a thousand years, following the first resurrection 
(Rev. 20 : 1-4:), apportioning to the wicked the punishment 
due to their sins. Then the martyrs will sit in judgment 
upon the great anti-Christian, persecuting power, which, in the 
days of their trial, hunted them like the beasts of the desert, 
and poured out their blood like water. (3) The time that the 
saints possess the kingdom; that is, the time of their entrance 
upon the possession of the new earth. Then the last vestige 
of the curse, of sin, and of sinners, root and branch, will 
have been wiped away, and the territory so long misruled 
by the wicked powers of earth, the enemies of God's people, 
will be taken by the righteous, to be held by them forever 
and ever. 1 Cor. 6 : 2, 3 ; Matt. 25 : 34. 

Verse 23. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth king- 
dom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall 
devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 
24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise ; 
and another shall rise after them : and he shall be diverse from the first, 
and he shall subdue three kings. 25. And he shall speak great words against 
the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think 
to change times and laws : and they shall be given into his hand until 
a time and times and the dividing of time. 26. But the judgment shall 
sit. and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it 
unto the end. 

We have here further particulars respecting the fourth 
beast and the little horn. 

Perhaps enough has already been said respecting the fourth 
beast (Rome ) and the ten horns, or ten kingdoms, which arose 
therefrom. The little horn now more particularly demands 
attention. As stated on verse 8, we find the fulfilment of the 
prophecy concerning this horn in the rise and work of the pa- 
pacy. It is a matter of both interest and importance, there- 
fore, to inquire into the causes which resulted in the develop- 
ment of this anti-Christian power. 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 



127 



The first pastors or bishops of Rome enjoyed a respect pro- 
portionate to the rank of the city in which they resided ; and 
for the first few centuries of the Christian era, Rome was the 
largest, richest, and most powerful city in the world. It was 
the seat of empire, the capital of the nations. ' 4 All the in- 
habitants of the earth belong to her," said Julian; and Clau- 
dian declared her to be 4 'the fountain of laws." "If Rome is 
the queen of cities, why should not her pastor be the king of 
bishops?" was the reasoning these Roman pastors adopted. 
4 ' Why should not the Roman Church be the mother of Chris- 
tendom ? Why should not all nations be her children, and her 
authority their sovereign law? It was easy," says D'Aubigne, 
from whom we quote these words (History of the Reformation, 
Vol. I, chap. 1), "for the ambitious heart of man to reason 
thus. Ambitious Rome did so." 

The bishops in the different parts of the Roman empire felt 
a pleasure in yielding to the bishop of Rome some portion of 
that honor which Rome, as the queen city, received from the 
nations of the earth. There was originally no dependence im- 
plied in the honor thus paid. "But," continues D'Aubigne, 
' 4 usurped power increases like an avalanche. Admonitions, at 
first simply fraternal, soon became absolute commands in the 
mouth of the pontiff. The Western bishops favored this en- 
croachment of the Roman pastors, either from jealousy of the 
Eastern bishops, or because they preferred submitting to the 
supremacy of a pope rather than to the dominion of a temporal 
power. " 

Such were the influences clustering around the bishop of 
Rome, and thus was everything tending toward his speedy ele- 
vation to the supreme spiritual throne of Christendom. But 
the fourth century was destined to witness an obstacle thrown 
across the path of this ambitious dream. Arius, parish priest 
of the ancient and influential church of Alexandria, sprung his 
doctrine upon the world, occasioning so fierce a controversy in 
the Christian church that a general council was called at 
Mcsea, by the emperor Constantine, a. d. 325, to consider and 
adjust it. Arius maintained 4 4 that the Son was totally and 



128 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

essentially distinct from the Father ; that he was the first 
and noblest of those beings whom the Father had created out 
of nothing, the instrument by whose subordinate operation the 
Almighty Father formed the universe, and therefore inferior to 
the Father both in nature and dignity." This opinion was 
condemned by the council, which decreed that Christ was of 
one and the same substance with the Father. Hereupon Arms 
was banished to Illyria, and his followers were compelled to 
give their assent to the creed composed on that occasion. 
(Mosheim, cent. 4, part 2, chap. 4. ; Stanley, History of the 
Eastern Church, p. 239.) 

The controversy itself, however, was not to be disposed of 
in this summary manner, but continued for ages to agitate the 
Christian world, the Arians everywhere becoming the bitter 
enemies of the pope and of the Roman Catholic Church. 
From these facts it is evident that the spread of Arianism would 
check the influence of the Catholics ; and the possession of Eome 
and Italy by a people of the Arian persuasion, would be fatal 
to the supremacy of a Catholic bishop. But the prophecy had 
declared that this horn would rise to supreme power, and that 
in reaching this position it would subdue three kings. 

Some difference of opinion has existed in regard to the par- 
ticular powers which were overthrown in the interest of the 
papacy, in reference to which the following remark by Albert 
Barnes seems very pertinent: " In the confusion that existed 
on the breaking up of the Roman empire, and the imperfect 
accounts of the transactions which occurred in the rise of the 
papal power, it would not be wonderful if it should be difficult 
to find events distinctly recorded that would be in all respects 
an accurate and absolute fulfilment of the vision. Yet it is 
possible to make out the fulfilment of this with a good degree 
of certainty in the history of the papacy." — Notes on Daniel 7. 

Mr. Mede supposes the three kingdoms plucked up to have 
been the Greeks, the Lombards, and the Franks; and Sir Isaac 
Newton supposes they were the Exarchate of Ravenna, the 
Lombards, and the Senate and Dukedom of Rome. Bishop 
Newton (Dissertation on the Prophecies, pp. 217, 218) states 



CHAPTFR 7, VERSES 23-26. 



129 



some serious objections to both these schemes. The Franks 
could not have been one of these kingdoms ; for they were 
never plucked up before the papacy. The Lombards could 
not have been one ; for they were never made subject to 
the popes. Says Barnes, "I do not find, indeed, that the 
kingdom of the Lombards was, as is commonly stated, among 
the number of the temporal sovereignties that became subject 
to the authority of the popes." And the Senate and Dukedom 
of Eome could not have been one ; for they, as such, never 
constituted one of the ten kingdoms, three of which were to be 
plucked up before the little horn. 

But we apprehend that the chief difficulty in the applica- 
tion made by these eminent commentators, lay in the fact that 
they supposed that the prophecy respecting the exaltation of the 
papacy had not been fulfilled, and could not have been, till the 
pope became a temporal prince; and hence they sought to find 
an accomplishment of the prophecy in the events which led to 
the pope's temporal sovereignty. Whereas, evidently, the 
prophecy of verses 24, 25 refers, not to his civil power, but to 
his power to domineer over the minds and consciences of men; 
and the pope reached this position, as will hereafter appear, in 
a. d. 538; and the plucking up of the three horns took 
place before this, and to make way for this very exaltation to 
spiritual dominion. The insuperable difficulty in the way of 
all attempts to apply the prophecy to the Lombards and the 
other powers named above is, that they may come altogether too 
late in point of time; for the prophecy deals with the arrogant 
efforts of the Roman pontiff to gain power, not with his en- 
deavors to oppress and humble the nations after he had secured 
the supremacy. 

The position is here confidently taken that the three pow- 
ers, or horns, plucked up before the papacy, were the Heruli, 
the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths; and this position rests upon 
the following statements of historians. 

Odoacer, the leader of the Heruli, was the first of the bar- 
barians who reigned over the Romans. He took the throne of 
Italy, according to Gibbon (Decline and Fall of the Roman 
9 



130 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Empire, Yol. Ill, pp. 510, 515), in 476. Of his religious 
belief Gibbon (p. 51(3) says. ''Like the rest of the barbarians, 
he had been instructed in the Arian heresy; but he revered the 
monastic and episcopal characters, and the silence of the Cath- 
olics attests the toleration which they enjoyed." 

Again he says (p. 517): " The Ostrogoths, the Burgundians, 
the Suevi, and the Yandals, who had listened to the eloquence 
of the Latin clergy, preferred the more intelligible lessons of 
their domestic teachers; and Arianism was adopted as the na- 
tional faith of the warlike converts who were seated on the 
ruins of the Western empire. This irreconcilable difference of 
religion was a perpetual source of jealousy and hatred; and 
the reproach of 'barbarian was embittered by the more odious 
epithet of heretic. The heroes of the North, who had sub- 
mitted, with some reluctance, to believe that all their ancestors 
were in hell, were astonished and exasperated to learn that 
they themselves had only changed the mode of their eternal 
condemnation." 

The reader is requested to consider carefully* a few more 
historical statements which throw some light on the situation 
at this time. Stanley (History of the Eastern Church, p. 151) 
says: "The whole of the vast Gothic population which de- 
scended on the Roman empire, so far as it was Christian at all, 
held to the faith of the Alexandrian heretic. Our first Teu- 
tonic version of the Scriptures was by an Arian missionary, 
Ulfilas. The first conqueror of Eome, Alaric, and the first 
conqueror of Africa, Genseric, were Arians. Theodoric, the 
great king of Italy, and hero of the 'Nibelungen Lied,' was an 
Arian. The vacant place in his massive tomb at Ravenna is a 
witness of the vengeance which the Orthodox took on his 
memory, when, in their triumph, they tore down the porphyry 
vase in which his Arian subjects had enshrined his ashes." 

Ranke, in his History of the Popes (London, edition of 
1871), Yol. I, p. 9, says: "But she [the church] fell, as was 
inevitable, into many embarrassments, and found herself in an 
entirely altered condition. A pagan people took possession of 
Britain; Arian kings seized the greater part of the remaining 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-2G. 



131 



West; while the Lombards, long attached to Arianism, and, as 
neighbors, most dangerous and hostile, established a powerful 
sovereignty before the very gates of Rome. The Roman bish- 
ops, meanwhile, beset on all sides, exerted themselves with all 
the prudence and pertinacity which have remained their peculiar 
attributes, to regain the mastery, at least in their patriarchal 
diocese. " 

Machiavelli, in his History of Florence, p. 14, says : 
' < Nearly all the wars which the northern barbarians carried on 
in Italy, it may be here remarked, were occasioned by the pon- 
tiffs; and the hordes with which the country was inundated, 
were generally called in by them." 

These extracts give us a general view of the state of affairs 
at this time, and show us that though the hands of the Roman 
pontiffs might not be visibly manifest in the movements upon 
the political board, they constituted the power working assidu- 
ously behind the scenes to secure their own purposes. The 
relation which these Arian kings sustained to the pope, from 
which we can see the necessity of their being overthrown to 
make way for papal supremacy, is shown in the following tes- 
timony from Mosheim, given in his History of the Church, 
cent. 6, part 2, chap. 2, sec. 2: — 

''On the other hand, it is certain, from a variety of the 
most authentic records, that both the emperors and the nations 
in general were far from being disposed to bear with patience 
the yoke of servitude which the popes were imposing upon the 
Christian church The Gothic princes set bounds to the power 
of those arrogant prelates in Italy, permitted none to be raised 
to the pontificate without their approbation, and reserved to 
themselves the right of judging of the legality of every new 
election." 

An instance in proof of this statement occurs in the history 
of Odoacer, the first Arian king above mentioned, as related by 
Bower in his History of the Popes, Vol. I, p. 271. When, on 
the death of Pope Simplicius, a. d. 483, the clergy and people 
had assembled for the election of a new pope, suddenly Basil- 
ius, prsefectus praetorio, and lieutenant of King Odoacer, ap- 



132 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



peared in the assembly, expressed his surprise that any such 
work as appointing a successor to the deceased pope should be 
undertaken without him. in the name of the king declared all 
that had been done null and void, and ordered the election to 
be begun anew. Certainly the horn which exercised such a 
restrictive power over the papal pontiff must be taken away 
before the pope could reach the predicted supremacy. 

Meanwhile Zeno, the emperor of the East, and friend of 
the pope, was anxious to drive Odoacer out of Italy (Machia- 
velli, p. 6), a movement which he soon had the satisfaction of 
seeing accomplished without trouble to himself, in the following 
manner. Theodoric had come to the throne of the Ostrogothic 
kingdom in Moesia and Pannonia. Being on friendly terms 
with Zeno, he wrote him, stating that it was impossible for 
him to restrain his Goths within the impoverished province of 
Pannonia, and asking his permission to lead them to some more 
favorable region, which they might conquer and possess. 
Zeno gave him permission to march against Odoacer, and take 
possession of Italy. Accordingly, after a three years' war, the 
Herulian kingdom in Italy was overthrown, Odoacer was 
treacherously slain, and Theodoric established his Ostrogoths in 
the Italian peninsula. As already stated he was an Arian, 
and the law of Odoacer subjecting the election of the pope to 
the approval of the king, was still retained. 

The following incident will show how completely the pa- 
pacy was in subjection to his power. The Catholics in the 
East, having commenced a persecution against the Arians in 
523, Theodoric summoned Pope John into his presence, and 
thus addressed him: i; If the emperor [Justin, the predecessor 
of Justinian] does not think fit to revoke the edict which he has 
lately issued against those of my persuasion [that is, the Arians], 
it is my firm resolution to issue the like edict against those 
of his [that is, the Catholics] : and to see it everywhere exe- 
cuted with the same rigor. Those who do not profess the faith 
of 2sic3ea are heretics to him, and those who do are heretics 
to me. Whatever can excuse or justify his severity to the 
former, will excuse and justify mine to the latter. But the 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 



133 



emperor," continued the king, " has none about him who 
dare freely and openly speak what they think, or to whom he 
would hearken if they did. But the great veneration which 
he professes for your /See, leaves no room to doubt but he 
would hearken to you. I will therefore have you to repair 
forthwith to Constantinople,, and there to remonstrate, both in 
my name and your own, against the violent measures in which 
that court has so rashly engaged. It is in your power to di- 
vert the emperor from them; and till you have, nay, till the 
Catholics [this name Theodoric applies to the Arians] are re- 
stored to the free exercise of their religion, and to all the 
churches from which they have been driven, you must not 
think of returning to Italy.' 1 — Bower's History of the Popes, 
Vol. 7, p. 325. 

The pope who was thus peremptorily ordered not to set his 
foot again upon Italian soil until he had carried out the will of 
the king, certainly could not hope for much advancement 
toward any kind of supremacy till that power was taken out 
of the way. Baronius, according to Bower, will have it that 
the pope sacrificed himself on this occasion, and advised the 
emperor not by any means to comply with the demand the 
king had sent him. But Mr. Bower thinks this inconsistent, 
since he could not, he says, "sacrifice himself without sacrific- 
ing, at the same time, the far greater part of the innocent 
Catholics in the West, who were either subject to King Theod- 
oric, or to other Arian princes in alliance with him. " It is 
certain that the pope and the other ambassadors were treated 
with severity on their return, which Bower explains on this 
wise : " Others arraign them all of high treason; and truly the 
chief men of Home were suspected at this very time of carry- 
ing on a treasonable correspondence with the court of Con- 
stantinople, and machinating the ruin of the Gothic empire 
in Italy:'— Id., p. 326. 

The feelings of the papal party toward Theodoric may be 
accurately estimated, according to a quotation already given, by 
the vengeance which they took on his memory, when they tore 
from his massive tomb in Ravenna the porphyry vase in which 



134 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



his Arian subjects had enshrined his ashes. But these feelings 
are put into language by Baronius, who inveighs ' ' against The- 
odoric as a cruel barbarian, as a barbarous tyrant, as an impi- 
ous Arian. ' ' But 4 ' having exaggerated with all his eloquence, 
and bewailed the deplorable condition of the Koman Church 
reduced by that heretic to a state of slavery, he comforts him- 
self in the end, and dries up his tears, with the pious thought 
that the author of such a calamity died soon after, and was 
eternally damned ! " — Baronius* s Annals, A. D. 526, p. 116/ 
Bower, Vol. Ill, p. 328. 

While the Catholics were thus feeling the restraining power 
of an Arian king in Italy, they were suffering a violent perse- 
cution from the Arian Yandals in Africa. (Gibbon, chap. 37, 
sec. 2.) Elliott, in his Horse Apocalyptica?, Yol. Ill, p. 152, 
note 3, says: "The Yandal kings were not only Arians, but 
" persecutors of the Catholics ; in Sardinia and Corsica, under 
the Roman Episcopate, we may presume, as well as in Africa." 

Such was the position of affairs, when, in 533, Justinian 
entered upon his Yandal and Gothic wars. Wishing to se- 
cure the influence of the pope and the Catholic party, he issued 
that memorable decree which was to constitute the pope the 
head of all the churches, and from the carrying out of which, 
in 538, the period of papal supremacy is to be dated. And 
whoever will read the history of the African campaign, 533-4, 
and the Italian campaign, 534-8, will notice that the Catholics 
everywhere hailed as deliverers the army of Belisarius, the gen- 
eral of Justinian. 

The testimony of D'Aubigne (Reformation, book 1, chap. 
1), also throws light upon the undercurrents which gave shape 
to outward movements in these eventful times. He says : 
' ' Princes whom these stormy times often shook upon their 
thrones, offered their protection if Rome would in its turn sup- 
port them. They conceded to her the spiritual authority, pro- 
vided she would make a return in secular power. They were 
lavish of the souls of men, in the hope that she would aid them 
against - their enemies. The power of the hierarchy, which 
was ascending, and the imperial power, which was declining, 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 135 

leaned thus one upon the other, and by this alliance acceler- 
ated their twofold destiny. Rome could not lose by it. An 
edict of Theodosius II and of Valentinian III proclaimed the 
Roman bishop ' rector of the whole church. ' Justinian pub- 
lished a similar decree." 

But no decree of this nature could be carried into effect 
until the Arian horns which stood in its way, were plucked 
up. The Yandals fell before the victorious arms of Belisarius 
in 534; and the Goths, retiring, left him in undisputed posses- 
sion of Rome in 538. (Gibbon's Rome, chap 41.) 

Procopius relates that the African war was undertaken by 
Justinian for the relief of the Christians (Catholics) in that 
quarter; and that when he expressed his intention in this re- 
spect, the prefect of the palace came very near dissuading him 
from his purpose; but a dream appeared to him in which he 
was bidden "not to shrink from the execution of his design; 
for by assisting the Christians he would overthrow the power 
of the Yandals." — Evagrius } s Ecclesiastical History, Book 
chap. 16. 

Listen again to Mosheim : " It is true that the Greeks who 
had received the decrees of the Council of Nicsea [that is, the 
Catholics], persecuted and oppressed the Arians wherever their 
influence and authority could reach; but the Nicenians, in 
their turn, were not less rigorously treated by their adversa- 
ries [the Arians], particularly in Africa and Italy, where they 
felt, in a very severe manner, the weight of the Arian power, 
and the bitterness of hostile resentment. The triumphs of 
Arianism were, however, transitory, and its prosperous days 
were entirely eclipsed when the Vandals were driven out of 
Africa, and the Goths out of Italy, by the arms of Justinian. ' ' 
— Mosheim Church History, cent. 6, part 2, chap. 5, sec. 3. 

Elliott, in his Horse Apocalypticse, makes two enumerations 
of the ten kingdoms which rose out of the Roman empire, vary- 
ing the second list from the first according to the changes 
which had taken place at the later period to which the second 
list applies. His first list differs from that mentioned in re- 
marks on chap. 2: 42, only in that he put the Allemanni in place 



136 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



of the Huns, and the Bavarians in place of the Lombards, a 
variation which can be easily accounted for. But out of this 
list he names the three that were plucked up before the papacy, 
in these words: " I might cite three that were eradicated from 
before the pope out of the list first given; namely, the Heruli 
under Odoacer, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths." — Vol. Ill, 
p. 152, note 1. 

Although he prefers the second list, in which he puts the 
Lombards instead of the Heruli, the foregoing is good testi- 
mony that if we make the enumeration of the ten kingdoms 
while the Heruli were a ruling power, they were one of the 
horns which were plucked up. 

From the historical testimony above cited, we think it 
clearly established that the three horns plucked up were the 
powers named; viz., the Heruli in a. d. 493, the Vandals in 
534, and the Ostrogoths in 538. 

1. "He shall speak great words against the Most High." 
Has the papacy done this? Look at a few of the pope's 
self- accepted titles : 1 ' Vicegerent of the Son of God," "Our 
Lord God, the Pope," " Another God upon earth," "King of 
the world," "King of kings and Lord of lords." Said Pope 
Nicholas to Emperor Michael, ' ' The pope, who is called 
God by Constantine, can never be bound or released by man; 
for God cannot be judged by man." Is there need of bolder 
blasphemy than this ? Listen also to the adulation the popes 
have received from their followers without rebuke. A Vene- 
tian prelate in the fourth session of the Lateran, addressed the 
pope as follows : 4 ' Thou art our Shepherd, our Physician, in 
short, a second God upon earth." Another bishop called him 
" the lion of the tribe of Judah, the promised Saviour." Lord 
Anthony Pucci, in the fifth Lateran, said to the pope, " The 
sight of thy divine majesty does not a little terrify me; for I 
am not ignorant that all power both in heaven and in earth is 
given unto you; that the prophetic saying is fulfilled in you, 
< All the kings of the earth shall worship him, and nations shall 
serve him.'" (See Oswald's Kingdom Which Shall Not be 
Destroyed, pp. 97-99.) Again, Dr. Clarke, in verse 25, says: 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 



137 



" ' He shall speak as if he were God.' So St. Jerome quotes 
from Symmachus. To none can this apply so well or so fully 
as to the popes of Koine. They have assumed infallibility, 
which belongs only to God. They profess to forgive sins, 
which belongs only to God. They profess to open and shut 
heaven, which belongs only to God. They profess to be higher 
than all the kings of the earth, which belongs only to God. 
And they go beyond God in pretending to loose whole nations 
from their oath of allegiance to their kings, when such kings 
do not please them. And they go against God when they 
give indulgences for sin. This is the worst of all blasphemies. ' ' 

2. < 'And shall wear out the saints of the Most High." 
Has the papacy done this % For the mere information of any 
student of church history, no answer need here be given. All 
know that for long years the papal church has pursued its re- 
lentless work against the true followers of God. Chapter after 
chapter might be given, would our limited space permit. 
Wars, crusades, massacres, inquisitions, and persecutions of all 
kinds, — these were their weapons of extinction. 

Scott's Church History says : "No computation can reach 
the numbers who have been put to death, in different ways, 
on account of their maintaining the profession of the gospel, 
and opposing the corruptions of the Church of Kome. A mil- 
lion of poor Waldenses perished in France ; nine hundred 
thousand orthodox Christians were slain in less than thirty 
years after the institution of the order of the Jesuits. The 
Duke of Alva boasted of having put to death in the Nether- 
lands thirty-six thousand by the hand of the common execu- 
tioner during the space of a few years. The Inquisition 
destroyed, by various tortures, one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand within thirty years. These are a few specimens, and 
but a few, of those which history has recorded. But the 
total amount will never be known till the earth shall disclose 
her blood, and no more cover her slain." 

Commenting on the prophecy that the little horn should 
"wear out the saints of the Most High," Barnes, in his Notes 
on Dan. 7 : 25, says : " Can any one doubt that this is true of 



138 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



the papacy \ The Inquisition, the persecutions of the Wal- 
denses, the ravages of the Duke of Alva, the fires of Smith- 
field, the tortures at Goa, — indeed, the whole history of the 
papacy may be appealed to in proof that this is applicable to 
that power. If anything could have worn out the saints of 
the Most High, — could have cut them off from the earth so 
that evangelical religion would have become extinct, — it would 
have been the persecutions of the papal power. In the year 
1208 a crusade was proclaimed by Pope Innocent III against 
the Waldenses and Albigenses, in which a million men per- 
ished. From the beginning of the order of Jesuits in the 
year 1540 to 1580, nine hundred thousand were destroyed. 
One hundred and fifty thousand perished by the Inquisition in 
thirty years. In the Low Countries fifty thousand persons were 
hanged, beheaded, burned, and buried alive, for the crime of 
heresy, within the space of thirty-eight years from the edict of 
Charles Y against the Protestants to the peace of Chateau 
Cambresis in 1559. Eighteen thousand suffered by the hand 
of the executioner in the space of five years and a half, during 
the administration of the Duke of Alva. Indeed, the slight- 
est acquaintance with the history of the papacy will convince 
any one that what is here said of ' making war with the saints ' 
( verse 21 ), and ' wearing out the saints of the Most High ' 
(verse 25), is strictly applicable to that power, and will accu- 
rately describe its history." (See Buck's Theological Diction- 
ary, art., Persecutions; Oswald's Kingdom, etc., pp. 107-133; 
Dowling's History of Romanism; Fox's Book of Martyrs; 
Charlotte Elizabeth's Martyrology; The Wars of the Hugue- 
nots; The Great Bed Dragon, by Anthony Gavin, formerly 
one of the Roman Catholic priests of Saragossa, Spain; His- 
tories of the Reformation, etc.) 

To parry the force of this damaging testimony from all his- 
tory, papists deny that the church has ever persecuted any one; 
it has been the secular power; the church has only passed 
decision upon the question of heresy, and then turned the 
offenders over to the civil power, to be dealt with according to 
the pleasure of the secular court. The impious hypocrisy of 




PROniNENT J1ARTYRS. 

" And he shall wear out the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7 125 
For Biographical Sketches, seep. 733. - 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-2C. 



139 



this claim is transparent enough to make it an absolute insult 
to common sense. In those days of persecution, what was 
the secular power % — Simply a tool in the hand of the church, 
and under its control, to do its bloody bidding. And when 
the church delivered its prisoners to the executioners to be 
destroyed, with fiendish mockery it made use of the following 
formula : ' 6 And we do leave thee to the secular arm, and to 
the power of the secular court; but at the same time do most 
earnestly beseech that court so to moderate its sentence as not 
to touch thy blood, nor to put thy life in any sort of danger." 
And then, as intended, the unfortunate victims of popish hate 
were immediately executed. (Geddes's Tracts on Popery; 
View of the Court of Inquisition in Portugal, p. 446; Lim- 
borch, Yol. II, p. 289.) 

But the false claims of papists in this respect have been 
flatly denied and disproved by one of their own standard wri- 
ters, Cardinal Bellarmine, who was born in Tuscany in 1542, 
and who, after his death in 1621, came very near being placed 
in the calendar of saints on account of his great services in 
behalf of popery. This man, on one occasion, under the spur 
of controversy, betrayed himself into an admission of the real 
facts in the case. Luther having said that the church (mean- 
ing the true church) never burned heretics, Bellarmine, un- 
derstanding it of the Romish Church, made answer: "This 
argument proves not the sentiment, but the ignorance or im- 
pudence of Luther; for as almost an infinite number were 
either burned or otherwise put to death, Luther either did not 
know it, and was therefore ignorant; or if he knew it, he was 
convicted of impudence and falsehood; for that heretics were 
often burned by the church, may be proved by adducing a few 
from many examples.' ' 

To show the relation of the secular power to the church, as 
held by Romanists, we quote the answer of the same writer to 
the argument that the only weapon committed to the church 
is " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." To 
this he replied : "As the church has ecclesiastical and secular 
princes, who are her tvjo ar?ns, so she has two swords, the 



1-10 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



spiritual and material; and therefore when her right hand is 
unable to convert a heretic with the sword of the Spirit, she 
invokes the aid of the left hand, and coerces heretics with the 
material sword. ' ' In answer to the argument that the apostles 
never invoked the secular arm against heretics, he says, " The 
apostles did it not, because there was no Christian prince whom 
they could call on for aid. But afterward, in Constantine's 
time, . . . the church called in the aid of the secular arm. ' ' 
— Dowling-s History of Romanism, pp. S^7, 51^8. 

In corroboration of these facts, fifty million martyrs — 
this is the lowest computation made by any historian — will 
rise up in the judgment as witnesses against her bloody 
work. 

Pagan Rome persecuted relentlessly the Christian church, 
and it is estimated that three million Christians perished in 
- the first three centuries, yet it is said that the primitive Chris- 
tians prayed for the continuance of imperial Home; for they 
knew that when this form of government should cease, another 
far worse persecuting power would arise, which would literally, 
as this prophecy declares, "wear out the saints of the Most 
High." Pagan Pome could slay the infants, but -spare the 
mothers; but papal Pome slew both mothers and infants 
together. No age, no sex, no condition in life, was exempt 
from her relentless rage. ' ' When Herod died, ' ' says a forcible 
writer, 4 4 he went down to the grave with infamy ; and earth 
had one murderer, one persecutor, less, and hell one victim 
more. O Pome ! what will not be thy hell, and that of thy 
votaries, when thy judgment shall have come ! ' ' 

3. And shall "think to change times and laws." What 
laws ? and whose ? Not the laws of other earthly governments ; 
for it was nothing marvelous or strange for one power to 
change the laws of another, whenever it could bring such 
power under its dominion. Not human laws of any kind; for 
the little horn had power to change these so far as its jurisdic- 
tion extended; but the times and laws in question were such 
as this power should only think to change, but not be able to 
change. They are the laws of the same Being to whom the 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 



141 



saints belong who are worn out by this power; namely, the 
laws of the Most High. And has the papacy attempted this ? 
— Yes, even this. It has, in its catechisms, expunged the 
second commandment of the decalogue to make way for its 
adoration of images. It has divided the tenth commandment 
to make up the number ten. And, more audacious than all ! 
it has taken hold of the fourth commandment, torn from its 
place the Sabbath of Jehovah, the only memorial of the great 
God ever given to man, and erected in its place a rival insti- 
tution to serve another purpose. 1 

4. ' ' And they shall be given into his hand until a time and 
times and the dividing of time. ' ' The pronoun they embraces 
the saints, the times, and the laws, just mentioned. How long 
a time were they to be given into the hands of this power ? A 
time, as we have seen from chapter 4: 23, is one year; two 
times, the least that could be denoted by the plural, two years, 
and the dividing of time, or half a time (Sept., $/uov,) half a 
year. Gesenius also gives " Chald., a half. Dan. 7 : 25.'' 
We thus have three years and a half for the continuance of 
this power. The Hebrew, or rather the Chaldaic, word for time 
in the text before us, is idddn, which Gesenius defines 
thus: " Time. Spec, in prophetic language for a year. Dan. 
7:25, jSin p;roj;] pJJT"^ for co year, also two years, and 
half a- year; i. e., for three years and a half; comp. Jos. B. J. 
1. 1. 1." We must now consider that we are in the midst of 
symbolic prophecy; hence in this measurement the time is not 
literal, but symbolic also. The inquiry then arises, How long 
a period is denoted by the three years and a half of prophetic 
time ? The rule given us in the Bible is, that when a day is 
used as a symbol, it stands for a year. Eze. 4: 6; Num. 14 : 34. 
Under the Hebrew word for day, nv (yom), Gesenius has this 
remark: "3. Sometimes D'pj \yamim\ marks a definite space 
of time; viz., a year ; as also Syr. and Chald. RJ? [idddn] 
denotes both time and year / and as in English several words 



1 See Catholic catechisms, and the work entitled. Who Changed the Sabbath ? 
and works on the Sabbath and Law, published at the office of the Review and 
Herald, Battle Creek, Mich. 



142 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



signifying time, weight, measure, are likewise used to denote 
certain specific times, weights, and measures." The ordinary 
Jewish year, which must be used as the basis of reckoning, 
contained three hundred and sixty days. Three years and 
a half contained twelve hundred and sixty days. As each 
day stands for a year, we have twelve hundred and sixty 
years for the continuation of the supremacy of this horn. Did 
the papacy possess dominion that length of time ? The answer 
again is, Yes. The edict of the emperor Justinian, dated a. d. 
533, made the bishop of Rome the head of all the churches. 
But this edict could not go into effect until the Arian Ostro- 
goths, the last of the three horns that were plucked up to make 
room for the papacy, were driven from Rome ; and this was not 
accomplished, as already shown, till a. d. 538. The edict 
would have been of no effect had this latter event not been 
accomplished; hence from this latter year we are to reckon, 
as this was the earliest point where the saints were in reality 
in the hand of this power. From this point did the papacy 
hold supremacy for twelve hundred and sixty years ? — 
Exactly. For 538 + 1260 == 1798; and in the year 1798, 
Berthier, with a French army, entered Rome, proclaimed a re- 
public, took the pope prisoner, and for a time abolished the 
papacy. It has never since enjoyed the privileges and immu- 
nities which it possessed before. Thus again this power fulfils 
to the very letter the specifications of the prophecy, which 
proves beyond question that the application is correct. 

After describing the terrible career of the little horn, and 
stating that the saints should be given into his hand for 1260 
years, bringing us down to 1798, verse 26 declares : 4 'But the 
judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to 
consume and to destroy it unto the end." In verse 10 of the 
same chapter we have substantially the same expression relative 
to the judgment : ' ' The judgment was set. ' ' It would seem 
consistent to suppose that the same judgment is referred to in 
both instances. But the sublime scene described in verse 10, 
is the opening of the investigative Judgment in the sanctuary 
in heaven, as will appear in remarks on Dan. 8 : 14 and 9 : 25- 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 27, 28. 



143 



27. The opening of this judgment scene is located by the 
prophecy at the close of the great prophetic period of 2300 
years, which terminated in 1844. (See under chapter 9 : 25- 
27.) Four years after this, in 1848, the great revolution which 
shook so many thrones in Europe, drove the pope also from his 
dominions. His restoration shortly after was through the force 
of foreign bayonets, by which alone he was upheld till his final 
loss of temporal power in 1870. The overthrow of the papacy 
in 1798, marked the conclusion of the prophetic period of 1260 
years, and constituted the "deadly wound 1 ' prophesied in 
Rev. 13 : 3, to come upon this power ; but this deadly wound 
was to be "healed." In 1800 another pope was elected; his 
palace and temporal dominion were restored, and every pre- 
rogative except, as Mr. Croly says, that of a systematic perse- 
cutor, was again under his control; and thus the wound was 
healed. But since 1870, he has enjoyed no prestige as a 
temporal prince, among the nations of the earth. 

Verse 27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the 
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the 
saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and 
all dominions shall serve and obey him. 28. Hitherto is the end of the 
matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my 
countenance changed in me : but I kept the matter in my heart. 

After beholding the dark and desolate picture of papal 
oppression upon the church, the prophet is permitted once 
more to turn his eyes upon the glorious period of the saints 1 
rest, when they shall have the kingdom, free from all oppress- 
ive powers, in everlasting possession. How could the children 
of God keep heart in this present evil world, amid the misrule 
and oppression of the governments of earth, and the abomina- 
tions that are done in the land, if they could not look forward 
to the kingdom of God and the return of their Lord, with full 
assurance that the promises concerning them both shall cer- 
tainly be fulfilled, and that speedily ? 



144 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Note. — Some startling events relative to the papacy, rilling up the 
prophecies uttered in this chapter concerning that power, have taken 
place within a few years of the present time. Commencing in 1798. 
where the first great blow fell upon the papacy, what have been the chief 
characteristics of its history? Answer: The rapid defection of its 
natural supporters, and greater assumptions on its own part. In 1844, 
the judgment of verse 10 began to sit; namely, the investigative Judg- 
ment, in the heavenly sanctuary, preparatory to the coming of Christ. 
Dec. 8, 1854, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was decreed by 
the pope. July 21, 1870, in the great Ecumenical Council assembled at 
Rome, it was deliberately decreed, by a vote of 538 against 2, that the 
pope was infallible. In the same year, France, by whose bayonets the 
pope was kept upon his throne, was crushed by Prussia, and the last prop 
was taken from under the papacy. Then Victor Emmanuel, seeing his 
opportunity to carry out the long-cherished dream of a united Italy, 
seized Rome to make it the capital of his kingdom. To his troops, under 
General Cadorna, Rome surrendered, Sept. 20, 1870. The pope's temporal 
power was thus wholly taken away, nevermore, said Victor Emmanuel, 
to be restored; and since that time, the popes, shutting themselves up in 
the Vatican, have styled themselves "prisoners." Because of the great 
words which the horn uttered, Daniel saw the beast destroyed, and given 
to the burning flame. This destruction is to take place at the second 
coming of Christ and by means of that event ; for the man of sin is to be 
consumed by the spirit of Christ's mouth, and destroyed by the bright- 
ness of his coming. 2 Thess. 2 : 8. "What words could be more arrogant, 
presumptuous, blasphemous, or insulting to high Heaven, than the de- 
liberate adoption of the dogma of infallibility, thus clothing a mortal 
man with a prerogative of the Deity? And this was accomplished by 
papal intrigue and influence, July 21, 1870. Following in swift succes- 
sion, the last vestige of temporal power was wrenched from his grasp. It 
was because of these words, and as if in almost immediate connection 
with them, that the prophet saw this power given to the burning flame. 
His dominion was to be consumed unto the end, implying that when his 
power as a civil ruler should be wholly destroyed, the end would not be 
far off. And the prophet immediately adds: "And the kingdom and 
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, 
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." All, in 
this line of prophecy, has now been fully accomplished except the closing 
scene. Next comes the last, crowning act in the drama, when the beast 
will be given to the burning flame, and the saints of the Most High take 
the kingdom. We must be, now, upon the very threshold of this glorious 
event. 



Chapter 




THE<* 





E now come once more," says Dr. Clarke, "to the 
Hebrew ) the Chaldee part of the book being finished. 
As the Chaldeans had a particular interest both in 
the history and the prophecies from chapter 2 : 4 to the end 
of chapter 7, the whole is written in Chaldee; but as the 
prophecies which remain concern times posterior to the Chal- 
dean monarchy, and principally relate to the church and people 
of God generally, they are written in the Hebrew language, this 
being the tongue in which God chose to reveal all his counsels 
given under the Old Testament relative to the JVew." 

Verse 1. In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision 
appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto 
me at the first. 

One prominent characteristic of the sacred writings, and 
one which should forever shield them from the charge of being 
works of fiction, is the frankness and freedom with which the 
writers state all the circumstances connected with that which 
they record. This verse states the time when the vision 
recorded in this chapter was given to Daniel. The first year 
of Belshazzar was b. c. 540. His third year, in which this 
vision was given, would consequently be 538. If Daniel, as 
is supposed, was about twenty years of age when he was carried 
to Babylon in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, b. c. 606, he 
was at this time about eighty-eight years of age. The vision 
10 [ 145 ] 



146 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



he speaks of as the one "which appeared unto him at the 
first," is doubtless the vision of the seventh chapter, which he 
had in the first year of Belshazzar. 

Yehse 2. And I saw in a vision ; and it came to pass, when I saw, 
that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam ; 
and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. 

As verse 1 states the time when, this verse gives the place 
where, the vision was given. Shushan, as we learn from 
Prideaux, was the metropolis of the province of Elam. This 
was then in the hands of the Babylonians, and there the king 
of Babylon had a royal palace. Daniel, as minister of state, 
and employed about the king's business, was accordingly in 
that place, Abradates, viceroy or prince of Shushan, revolted 
to Cyrus, and the province was joined to the Medes and 
Persians; so that, according to the prophecy of Isaiah (21 : 2), 
Elam went up with the Medes to besiege Babylon. Under the 
Medes and Persians it regained its liberties, of which it had 
been deprived by the Babylonians, according to the prophecy of 
Jeremiah, chapter 49 : 39. 

Verse 3. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there 
stood before the river a ram which had two horns ; and the two horns 
were high ; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up 
last. 4. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and south- 
ward ; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any 
that could deliver out of his hand ; but he did according to his will, 
and became great. 

Ill verse 20 an interpretation of this symbol is given us in 
plain language: "The ram which thou sawest, having two 
horns, are the kings of Media and Persia." We have only, 
therefore, to consider how well the symbol answers to the 
power in question. The two horns represented the two nation- 
alities of which the empire consisted. The higher came up 
last. This represented the Persian element, which, from being 
at first simply an ally of the Medes, came to be the leading 
division of the empire. The different directions in which the 
ram was seen pushing, denote the directions in which the 
Medes and Persians carried their conquests. No earthly powers 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 1-7. 



147 



could stand before them while thej were marching up to the 
exalted position to which the providence of God had sum- 
moned them. And so successfully were then- conquests 
prosecuted that in the days of Ahasuerus (Esther 1 : 1), the 
Medo-Persian kingdom extended from India to Ethiopia, the 
extremities of the then known world, over a hundred and 
twenty-seven provinces. The prophecy almost seems to fall 
short of the facts as stated in history, when it simply says that 
this power " did according to his will, and became great." 

Verse 5. And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the 
west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground : and 
the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6. And he came to the 
ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and 
ran unto him in the fury of his power. 7. And I saw him come close 
unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the 
ram, and brake his two horns : and there was no power in the ram to 
stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon 
him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 

u As I was considering, ,, says the prophet; and in this he 
sets an example for every lover of the truth, and all who have 
any regard for things higher than the objects of time and sense. 
When Moses saw the burning bush, he said, ' £ I will now turn 
aside, and see this great sight." But how few are willing at 
the present time to turn aside from their pursuit of business 
or pleasure to consider the important themes to which both 
the mercy and providence of God are striving to call their 
attention. 

The symbol here introduced is also explained by the angel 
to Daniel. Verse 21 : "And the rough goat is the king [or 
kingdom] of Grecia. " Concerning the fitness of this symbol 
to the Grecian or Macedonian people, Bishop Newton observes 
that the Macedonians, ' ' about two hundred years before the 
time of Daniel, were called ^Egeadae, the goats' people;" the 
origin of which name he explains, according to heathen authors, 
as follows : u Caranus, their first king, going with a great 
multitude of Greeks to seek new habitations in Macedonia, was 
advised by an oracle to take the goats for his guides to empire; 
and afterward, seeing a herd of goats Hying from a violent 



148 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



storm, he followed them to Edessa, and there fixed the seat of 
his empire, and made the goats his ensigns, or standards, and 
called the city ^Egse, or the goats' town, and the people, ^Egea- 
dse, or the goats' people." "The city of iEgese, or iEgse, was 
the usual burying-place of the Macedonian kings. It is also 
very remarkable that Alexander's son by Roxana was named 
Alexander j$£gus, or the son of the goat; and some of Alex- 
ander's successors are represented in their coins with goats' 
horns." — Dissertation on the Prophecies, p. 238. 

The goat came from the west. Grecia lay west of Persia. 

" On the face of the whole earth." He covered all the 
ground as he passed; that is, he swept everything before him; 
he left nothing behind. 

He c 4 touched not the ground. ' ' Such was the marvelous 
celerity of his movements that he did not seem to touch the 
ground, but to fly from point to point with the swiftness of the 
wind; the same feature is brought to view by the four wings of 
the leopard in the vision of chapter 7. 

The notable horn between his eyes. This is explained in 
verse 21 to be the first king of the Macedonian empire. This 
king was Alexander the Great. 

Verses 6 and 7 give a concise account of the overthrow of 
the Persian empire by Alexander. The contests between the 
Greeks and Persians are said to have been exceedingly furious; 
and some of the scenes as recorded in history are vividly 
brought to mind by the figure used in the prophecy, — a ram 
standing before the river, and the goat running unto him in 
the fury of his power. Alexander first vanquished the generals 
of Darius at the River Granicus in Phrygia; he next attacked 
and totally routed Darius at the passes of Issus in Cilicia, and 
afterward on the plains of Arbela in Syria. This last battle 
occurred b. c. 331, and marked the conclusion of the Persian 
empire; for by this event Alexander became complete master 
of the whole country. Bishop Newton quotes verse 6 : 44 And 
he [ the goat ] came to the ram which I had seen standing be- 
fore the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power;" 
and adds : < 4 One can hardly read these words, without having 



CHAPTER 8, VERSE 8. 



149 



some image of Darius's army standing and guarding the River 
Granicus, and of Alexander on the other side, with his forces 
plunging in, swimming across the stream, and rushing on the 
enemy with all the fire and fury that can be imagined." — Id., 
p. 239. 

Ptolemy begins the reign of Alexander b. c. 332; but it 
was not till the battle of Arbela, the year following, that he 
became, according to Prideaux (Yol. I, p. 378), "absolute 
lord of that empire to the utmost extent in which it was ever 
possessed by the Persian kings. ' ' On the eve of this engage- 
ment, Darius sent ten of his chief relatives to sue for peace; 
and upon their presenting their conditions to Alexander, he re- 
plied, ' ' Tell your sovereign . . . that the world will not per- 
mit two suns nor two sovereigns ! " 

The language of verse 7 sets forth the completeness of the 
subjection of Medo-Persia to Alexander. The two horns were 
broken, and the ram' was cast to the ground and stamped upon. 
Persia was subdued, the country ravaged, its armies cut to 
pieces and scattered, its cities plundered, and the royal city of 
Persepolis, the capital of the Persian empire, and even in its 
ruins one of the wonders of the world to the present day, was 
sacked and burned. Thus the ram had no power to stand be- 
fore the goat, and there was none that could deliver him out of 
his hand. 

Verse 8. Therefore the he-goat waxed, very great : and when he was 
strong, the great horn was broken ; and for it came up four notable ones 
toward the four winds of heaven. 

The conqueror is greater than the conquered. The ram, 
Medo-Persia, became great ; the goat, Grecia, became very 
great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken. 
Human foresight and speculation would have said, When he 
becomes weak, his kingdom racked by rebellion, or paralyzed 
by luxury, then the horn will be broken, and the kingdom 
shattered. But Daniel saw it broken in the very prime of its 
strength and the hight of its power, when every beholder 
would have exclaimed, Surely, the kingdom is established, and 



150 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



nothing can overthrow it. Thus it is often with the wicked. 
The horn of their strength is broken when they think they 
stand most firm. 

Alexander fell in the prime of life. (See notes on verse 39 
of chapter 2.) After his death there arose much confusion 
among his followers respecting the succession. It was finally 
agreed, after a seven days' contest, that his natural brother, 
Philip Aridaeus, should be declared king. By him, and Alex- 
ander's infant sons, Alexander ^Egus and Hercules, the name 
and show of the Macedonian empire were for a time sustained; 
but all these persons were soon murdered; and the family of 
Alexander being then extinct, the chief commanders of the 
army, who had gone into different parts of the empire as gov- 
ernors of the provinces, assumed the title of kings. They 
thereupon fell to leaguing and warring with one another to 
- such a degree that within the short space of fifteen years from 
Alexander's death, the number was reduced to — how many? 
Five % — No. Three ? — No. Two ? — No. But four — just 
the number specified in the prophecy; for four notable horns 
were to come up toward the four winds of heaven in place of 
the great horn that was broken. These were, (1) Cassander, 
who had Greece and the neighboring countries; (2) Lysimachus, 
who had Asia Minor; (3) Seleucus, who had Syria and Baby- 
lon, and from whom came the line of kings known as the 
" Seleucidse, "' so famous in history; and (4) Ptolemy, son of 
Lagus, who had Egypt, and from whom sprang the "Lagidse." 
These held dominion toward the four winds of heaven. Cas- 
sander had the western parts; Lysimachus had the northern 
regions; Seleucus possessed the eastern countries; and Ptolemy 
had the southern portion of the empire. These four horns may 
therefore be named Macedonia, Thrace (which then included 
Asia Minor, and those parts lying on the Hellespont and Bos- 
porus), Syria, and Egypt. 

Verse 9. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which 
waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and 
toward the pleasant land. 10. And it waxed great, even to the host of 
heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, 



EGYPT. B.C. 30. 



THE LITTLE HORN OF DANIEL VIII. 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 9-12. 



151 



and stamped upon them. 11. Yea, he magnified himself even to the 
prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and 
the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12. And an host was given 
him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast 
down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered. 

A third power is here introduced into the prophecy. In 
the explanation which the angel gave to Daniel of these sym- 
bols, this one is not described in language so definite as that 
concerning Medo-Persia and Grecia. Hence a flood of wild 
conjecture is at once let loose. Had not the angel, in language 
which cannot be misunderstood, stated that Medo-Persia and 
Grecia were denoted by the ram and the he-goat, it is impos- 
sible to tell what application men would have given us of those 
symbols. Probably they would have applied them to anything 
and everything but the right objects. Leave men a moment 
to their own judgment in the interpretation of prophecy, and 
we immediately have the most sublime exhibitions of human 
fancy. 

There are two leading applications of the symbol now under 
consideration, which are all that need be noticed in these brief 
thoughts. The first is that the " little horn " here introduced 
denotes the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes; the second, that 
it denotes the Roman power. It is an easy matter to test the 
claims of these two positions. 

I. Does it mean Antiochus ? If so, this king must fulfil 
the specifications of the prophecy. If he does not fulfil them, 
the application cannot be made to him. The little horn came 
out of one of the four horns of the goat. It was then a sepa- 
rate power, existing independently of, and distinct from, any 
of the horns of the goat. Was Antiochus such a power ? 

1. Who was Antiochus? From the time that Seleucus made 
himself king over the Syrian portion of Alexander's empire, 
thus constituting the Syrian horn of the goat, until that country 
was conquered by the Romans, twenty-six kings ruled in suc- 
cession over that territory. The eighth of these, in order, was 
Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus, then, was simply one of 
the twenty-six kings who constituted the Syrian horn of the 



152 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



goat. He was, for the time being, that horn. Hence he 
could not be at the same time a separate and independent 
power, or another and remarkable horn, as the little horn was. 

2. If it were proper to apply the little horn to any one of 
these twenty-six Syrian kings, it should certainly be applied to 
the most powerful and illustrious of them all; but Antiochus 
Epiphanes did not by any means sustain this character. Al- 
though he took the name Epiphanes, that is, The Illustrious, he 
was illustrious only in name; for nothing, says Prideaux, on 
the authority of Polybius, Livy, and Diodorus Siculus, could 
be more alien to his true character; for, on account of his vile 
and extravagant folly, some thinking him a fool and others a 
madman, they changed the name of Epiphanes, "The Illus- 
trious,' 1 into Epimanes, "The Madman." 

3. Antiochus the Great, the father of Epiphanes, being 
terribly defeated in a war with the Romans, was enabled to 
procure peace only by the payment of a prodigious sum of 
money, and the surrender of a portion of his territory; and, as 
a pledge that he would faithfully adhere to the terms of the 
treaty, he was obliged to give hostages, among whom was this 
very Epiphanes, his son, who was carried to Rome. The 
Romans ever after maintained this ascendency. 

4. The little horn waxed exceeding great; but this Antio- 
chus did not wax exceeding great; on the contrary, he did not 
enlarge his dominion, except by some temporary conquests in 
Egypt, which he immediately relinquished when the Romans 
took the part of Ptolemy, and commanded him to desist from 
his designs in that quarter. The rage of his disappointed 
ambition he vented upon the unoffending Jews. 

5. The little horn, in comparison with the powers that pre- 
ceded it, was exceeding great. Persia is simply called great, 
though it reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces. 
Esther 1:1. Grecia, being more extensive still, is called very 
great. Now the little horn, which waxed exceeding great, 
must surpass them both. How absurd, then, to apply this to 
Antiochus, who was obliged to abandon Egypt at the dictation 
of the Romans, to whom he paid enormous sums of money as 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 9-12. 



153 



tribute. The Religious Encyclopedia gives us this item of his 
history : u Finding his resources exhausted, he resolved to go 
into Persia to levy tribute, and collect large sums which he had 
agreed to pay to the Romans." It cannot take long for any 
one to decide the question which was the greater power, — the 
one which evacuated Egypt, or the one which commanded that 
evacuation; the one which exacted tribute, or the one which 
was compelled to pay it. 

6. The little horn was to stand up against the Prince of 
princes. The Prince of princes here means, beyond contro- 
versy, Jesus Christ. Dan. 9:25; Acts 3:15; Rev. 1:5. 
But Antiochus died one hundred and sixty-four years before 
our Lord was born. The prophecy cannot, therefore, apply to 
him; for he does not fulfil the specifications in one single par- 
ticular. The question may then be asked how any one has 
ever come to apply it to him. We answer, Romanists take 
that view to avoid the application of the prophecy to them- 
selves; and many Protestants follow them, in order to oppose 
the doctrine that the second advent of Christ is now at hand. 

II. It has been an easy matter to show that the little horn 
does not denote Antiochus. It will be just as easy to show 
that it does denote Rome. 

1. The field of vision here is substantially the same as that 
covered by Nebuchadnezzar's image of chapter 2, and Daniel's 
vision of chapter 7. And in both those prophetic delineations 
we have found that the power which succeeded Grecia as the 
fourth great power, was Rome. The only natural inference 
would be that the little horn, the power which in this vision 
succeeds Grecia as an " exceeding great " power, is also Rome. 

2. The little horn comes forth from one of the horns of the 
goat. How, it may be asked, can this be true of Rome ? It 
is unnecessary to remind the reader that earthly governments 
are not introduced into prophecy till they become in some way 
connected with the people of God. Rome became connected 
with the Jews, the people of God at that time, by the famous 
Jewish League b. c. 161. 1 Maccabees 8; Josephus's Antiq- 
uities, book 12, chap. 10, sec. 6; Prideaux, Yol. II, p. 166. But 



154 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



seven years before this, that is, in b. c. 168, Rome had con- 
quered Macedonia, and made that country a part of its empire. 
Borne is therefore introduced into prophecy just as, from the 
conquered Macedonian horn of the goat, it is going forth to 
new conquests in other directions. It therefore appeared to 
the prophet, or may be properly spoken of in this prophecy, 
as coming forth from one of the horns of the goat. 

3. The little horn waxed great toward the south. This 
was true of Rome. Egypt was made a province of the Roman 
empire b. c. 30, and continued such for some centuries. 

4. The little horn waxed great toward the east. This also 
was true of Rome. Rome conquered Syria b. c. 65, and made 
it a province. 

5. The little horn waxed great toward the pleasant land. 
So did Rome. Judea is called the pleasant land in many 

- scriptures. The Romans made it a province of their empire, 
b. c. 63, and eventually destroyed the city and the temple, and 
scattered the Jews over the face of the whole earth. 

6. The little horn waxed great even to the host of heaven. 
Rome did this also. The host of heaven, when used in a 
symbolic sense in reference to events transpiring upon the 
earth, must denote "persons of illustrious character or exalted 
position. The great red dragon (Rev. 12:4) is said to have 
cast down a third part of the stars of heaven to the ground. 
The dragon is there interpreted to symbolize pagan Rome, and 
the stars it cast to the ground were Jewish rulers. Evidently 
it is the same power and the same work that is here brought to 
view, which again makes it necessary to apply this growing 
horn to Rome. 

7. The little horn magnified himself even to the Prince of 
the host. Rome alone did this. In the interpretation (verse 
25) this is called standing up against the Prince of princes 
How clear an allusion to the crucifixion of our Lord under the 
jurisdiction of the Romans. 

8. By the little horn the daily sacrifice was taken away. 
This little horn must be understood to symbolize Rome in its 
entire history, including its two phases, pagan and papal. 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 9-12. 



155 



These two phases are elsewhere spoken of as the " daily " 
{sacrifice is a supplied word) and the ' ' transgression of deso- 
lation; " the daily (desolation) signifying the pagan form, 
and the transgression of desolation, the papal. (See on verse 
13.) In the actions ascribed to this power, sometimes one 
form is spoken of, sometimes the other. "By him" (the 
papal form) "the daily " (the pagan form) " was taken away." 
Pagan Rome was remodeled into papal Rome. And the place 
of his sanctuary, or worship, the city of Rome, was cast down. 
The seat of government was removed by Constantine in a. d. 
330 to Constantinople. The same transaction is brought to view 
in Rev. 13:2, where it is said that the dragon, pagan Rome, 
gave to the beast, papal Rome, his seat, the city of Rome. 

9. A host was given him (the little horn) against the daily. 
The barbarians that subverted the Roman empire in the 
changes, attritions, and transformations of those times, be- 
came converts to the Catholic faith, and the instruments of the 
dethronement of their former religion. Though conquering 
Rome politically, they were themselves vanquished religiously 
by the theology of Rome, and became the perpetrators of the 
same empire in another phase. And this was brought about by 
reason of "transgression;" that is, by the working of the 
mystery of iniquity. The papacy is the most cunningly contrived, 
false ecclesiastical system ever devised; and it may be called a 
system of iniquity because it has committed its abominations 
and practiced its orgies of superstition, in the garb, and under 
the pretense, of pure and undefiled religion. 

10. The little horn cast the truth to the ground, and prac- 
ticed and prospered. This describes, in few words, the work 
and career of the papacy. The truth is by it hideously carica- 
tured; it is loaded with traditions; it is turned into mummery 
and superstition ; it is cast down and obscured. 

And this anti-Christian power has "practiced," — practiced 
its deceptions upon the people, practiced its schemes of cunning 
to carry out its own ends and aggrandize its own power. 

And it has " prospered." It has made war with the saints, 
and prevailed against them. It has run its allotted career, and 



156 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



is soon to be broken without hand, to be given to the burning 
flame, and to perish in the consuming glories of the second ap- 
pearing of our Lord. 

Rome meets all the specifications of the prophecy. No 
other power does meet them. Hence Rome, and no other, is 
the power in question. And while the descriptions given in 
the word of God of the character of this monstrous system are 
fully met, the prophecies of its baleful history have been most 
strikingly and accurately fulfilled. 

Verse 13. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said 
unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision con- 
cerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give 
both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14. And he 
said unto me, Unto- two thousand and three hundred days ; then shall 
the sanctuary be cleansed. 

The time. These two verses close the vision proper of 
chapter 8; and they introduce the one remaining point which 
of all others would naturally be of the most absorbing inter- 
est to the prophet and to all the church; namely, the time the 
desolating powers previously brought to view were to continue. 
How long shall they continue their course of oppression against 
God's people, and of blasphemy against high Heaven % Daniel, 
if time had been given, might perhaps have asked this question 
himself, but God is ever ready to anticipate our wants, and 
sometimes to answer even before we ask. Hence two celestial 
beings appear upon the scene, holding a conversation, in the 
hearing of the prophet, upon this question which it is so im- 
portant that the church should understand. Daniel heard one 
saint speaking. What this saint spoke at this time we are not 
informed; but there must have been something either in the 
matter or the manner of this speaking which made a deep 
impression upon the mind of Daniel, inasmuch as he uses it 
in the very next sentence as a designating title, calling the 
angel < c that certain saint which spake. ' ' He may have spoken 
something of the same nature as that which the seven thunders 
of the Apocalypse uttered (Rev. 10 : 3), and which, for some 
good reason, John was restrained from writing. But another 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 



157 



saint asked this one that spake an important question : How 
long the vision ? and both the question and the answer are 
placed upon record, which is jprima-facie evidence that this is 
a matter which it was designed that the church should under- 
stand. And this view is further confirmed by the fact that the 
angel did not ask this question for his own information, inas- 
much as the answer was addressed to Daniel, as the one whom 
it chiefly concerned, and for whose information it was given. 
"And he said unto me, " said Daniel, recording the answer 
to the angel's question, "Unto two thousand and three hun- 
dred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." 

The daily sacrifice. We have proof in verse 13 that sacri- 
fice is the wrong word to be supplied in connection with the 
word daily. If the daily sacrifice of the Jewish service is here 
meant, or, in other words, the taking away of that sacrifice, as 
some suppose, which sacrifice was at a certain point of time 
taken away, there would be no propriety in the question, How 
long the vision concerning it \ This question evidently implies 
that those agents or events to which the vision relates, occupy 
a long series of years. Continuance of time is the central idea. 
And the whole time of the vision is filled by what is here called 
the daily and the transgression of desolation. Hence the daily 
cannot be the daily sacrifice of the Jews, the taking away of 
which, when the time came for it, occupied comparatively but 
an instant of time. It must denote something which occupies 
a series of years. 

The word here rendered daily occurs in the Old Testa- 
ment, according to the Hebrew Concordance, one hundred and 
two times, and is, in the great majority of instances, rendered 
continual or continually. The idea of sacrifice does not at- 
tach to the word at all. Nor is there any word in the text 
which signifies sacrifice; that is wholly a supplied word, the 
translators putting in that word which their understanding of 
the text seemed to demand. But they evidently entertained an 
erroneous view, the sacrifices of the Jews not being referred to 
at all. It appears therefore more in accordance with both the 
construction and the context, to suppose that the word daily 



158 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



refers to a desolating power, like the ' 1 transgression of desola- 
tion, " with which it is connected. Then we have two desolat- 
ing powers, which for a long period oppress, or desolate the 
church. The Hebrew, dd# ytstern TDfin, justifies this construc- 
tion; the last word, dd#> desolation, having a common relation 
to the two preceding nouns, the perpetual and the transgression, 
which are connected by the conjunction and. Literally, it may 
be rendered, ' c How long the vision [ concerning ] the continu- 
ance and the transgression of desolation ? ' ' the word desolation 
being related to both continuance and transgression, as though 
it were expressed in full, thus: " The continuance of desolation 
and the transgression of desolation. ' ' By the ' ' continuance of 
desolation," or the perpetual desolation, we must understand 
that paganism, through all its long history, is meant; and by 
u the transgression of desolation" is meant the papacy. The 
phrase describing this latter power is stronger than that used to 
describe paganism. It is the transgression ( or rebellion, as the 
word also means) of desolation; as though under this period of 
the history of the church the desolating power had rebelled 
against all restraint previously imposed upon it. 

From a religious point of view, the world has presented 
only these two phases of opposition against the Lord's work in 
the earth. Hence although three earthly governments are in- 
troduced in the prophecy as oppressors of the church, they 
are here ranged under two heads ; " the daily, " and the " trans- 
gression of desolation." Medo-Persia was pagan ; Grecia was 
pagan ; Rome in its first phase was pagan ; these all were 
embraced in the "daily." Then comes the papal form, — the 
' ' transgression of desolation " — a marvel of craft and cun- 
ning, an incarnation of fiendish blood-thirstiness and cruelty. 
No wonder the cry has gone up from suffering martyrs, from 
age to age, How long, O Lord, how long ? And no wonder 
the Lord, in order that hope might not wholly die out of the 
hearts of his down-trodden, waiting people, has lifted before 
them the vail of futurity, showing them the consecutive events 
of the world's history, till all these persecuting powers shall 
meet an utter and everlasting destruction, and giving them 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 



159 



glimpses beyond, of the unfading glories of their eternal 
inheritance. 

The Lord's eye is upon his people. The furnace will be 
heated no hotter than necessary to consume the dross. It is 
through much tribulation we are to enter the kingdom; and the 
word tribulation is from trifodwn, a threshing sledge. Blow 
after blow must be laid upon us; till all the wheat is beaten 
free from the chaff, and we are made fit for the heavenly gar- 
ner. But not a kernel of wheat shall be lost. Says the Lord 
to his people, Ye are the light of the world, the salt of the 
earth. In his eyes there is nothing else on the earth of con- 
sequence or importance. Hence the peculiar question here 
asked, How long the vision respecting the daily and the 
transgression of desolation ? Concerning what ? — the glory 
of earthly kingdoms ? the skill of renowned warriors ? the 
fame of mighty conquerors ? the greatness of human empire ? 

— Is o ; but concerning the sanctuary and the host, the people 
and worship of the Most High. How long shall they be trod- 
den under foot ? Here is where all Heaven' s interest and sym- 
pathy are enlisted. He who touches the people of God, 
touches not mere mortals, weak and helpless, but Omnipo- 
tence; he opens an account which must be settled at the bar of 
Heaven. And soon all these accounts will be adjusted, the 
iron heel of oppression will itself be crushed, and a people will 
be brought out of the furnace prepared to shine as the stars 
forever and ever. To be one who is an object of interest to 
heavenly beings, one whom the providence of God is engaged 
to preserve while here, and crown with immortality hereafter 

— what an exalted position! How much higher than that of 
any king, president, or potentate of earth? Reader, are you 
one of the number? 

Respecting the 2300 days, introduced for the first time in 
verse 14, there are no data in this chapter from which to 
determine their commencement and close, or tell what portion 
of the world's history they cover. It is necessary, therefore, 
for the present, to pass them by. Let the reader be assured, 
however, that we are not left in any uncertainty concerning 



160 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



those days. The declaration respecting them is a part of a 
revelation which is given for the instruction of the people of 
God, and is consequently to be understood. They are spoken 
of in the midst of a prophecy which the angel Gabriel was 
commanded to make Daniel understand; and it may be safely 
assumed that Gabriel somewhere carried out this instruction. 
It will accordingly be found that the mystery which hangs over 
these days in' this chapter, is dispelled in the next. 

The sanctuary. Connected with the 2300 days is another 
subject of equal importance, which now presents itself for 
consideration ; namely, the sanctuary; and with this is also 
connected the subject of its cleansing. An examination of 
these subjects, will reveal the importance of having an under- 
standing of the commencement and termination of the 2300 
days, that we may know when the great event called "the 
cleansing of the sanctuary " is to transpire; for all the inhab- 
itants of the earth, as will in due time appear, have a personal 
interest in that solemn work. 

Several objects have been claimed by different ones as the 
sanctuary here mentioned : (1) The earth; (2) The land of 
Canaan; (3) The church; (4) The sanctuary, the "true tab- 
ernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man," which is "in 
the heavens," and of which the Jewish tabernacle was a type, 
pattern, or figure. Heb. 8:1, 2 ; 9 : 23, 24. These con- 
flicting claims must be decided by the Scriptures; and for- 
tunately the testimony is neither meager nor ambiguous. 

1. Is the earth the sanctuary f The word sanctuary occurs 
in the Old and New Testaments one hundred and forty-four 
times, and from the definitions of lexicographers, and its use 
in the Bible, we learn that it is used to signify a holy or sacred 
place, a dwelling-place for the Most High. If, therefore, the 
earth is the sanctuary, it must answer to this definition; but 
what single characteristic pertaining to this earth is found 
which will satisfy the definition ? It is neither a holy nor a 
sacred place, nor is it a dwelling-place for the Most High. 
It has no mark of distinction, except as being a revolted planet, 
marred by sin, scarred and withered by the curse. Moreover, 



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it is nowhere in all the Scriptures called the sanctuary. Only 
one text can be produced in favor of this view, and that only 
by an uncritical application. Isa. 60 : 13 says: < 'The glory 
of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, 
and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; 
and I will make the place of my feet glorious." This lan- 
guage undoubtedly refers to the new earth; but even that is not 
called the sanctuary, but only the "place" of the sanctuary, 
just as it is called " the place " of the Lord's feet; an expression 
which probably denotes the continual presence of God with his 
people, as it was revealed to John when it was said, " Behold, 
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with 
them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be 
with them, and be their God." Eev. 21 : 3. All that can 
be said of the earth, therefore, is, that when renewed, it will be 
the place where the sanctuary of God will be located. It can 
present not a shadow of a claim to being the sanctuary at the 
present time, or the sanctuary of the prophecy. 

2. Is the land of Canaan the sanctuary ? So far as we 
may be governed by the definition of the word, it can present 
no better claim than the earth to that distinction. If we 
inquire where in the Bible it is called the sanctuary, a few 
texts are brought forward which seem to be supposed by some 
to furnish the requisite testimony. The first of these is Ex. 
15 : 17. Moses, in his song of triumph and praise to God 
after the passage of the Red Sea, exclaimed : < ' Thou shalt 
bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inherit- 
ance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to 
dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have 
established." A writer who urges this text, says, u I ask the 
reader to pause, and examine and settle the question most 
distinctly, before he goes further, What is the sanctuary here 
spoken of ? " But it would be far safer for the reader not to 
attempt to settle the question definitely from this one isolated 
text before comparing it with other scriptures. Moses here 
speaks in anticipation. His language is a prediction of what 
God would do for his people. Let us see how it was accom- 
11 



162 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



plished. If we find, in the fulfilment, that the land in which 
they were planted is called the sanctuary, it will greatly 
strengthen the claim that is based upon this text. If, on the 
other hand, we find a plain distinction drawn between the land 
and the sanctuary, then Ex. 15 : IT must be interpreted accord- 
ingly. We turn to David, who records as a matter of history 
what Moses uttered as a matter of prophecy. Ps. 78 : 53, 54. 
The subject of the psalmist here, is the deliverance of Israel 
from Egyptian servitude, and their establishment in the 
promised land ; and he says : ' 6 And he [God] led them on 
safely, so that they feared not : but the sea overwhelmed their 
enemies. And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, 
even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased." 
The i < mountain ' ' here mentioned by David is the same as 
. the 4 ' mountain of thine inheritance ' ' spoken of by Moses, in 
which the people were to be planted; and this mountain David 
calls, not the sanctuary, but only the border of the sanctuary. 
What, then, was the sanctuary? Verse 69 of the same psalm 
informs us : 64 And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, 
like the earth which he hath established forever. ' ' The same 
distinction between the sanctuary and the land is pointed out 
in the prayer of good king Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 20 : 7, 8 : 
4 ' Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of 
this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed 
of Abraham thy friend forever ? And they dwelt therein, and 
have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name." Taken 
alone, some try to draw an inference from Ex. 15 : 17 that the 
mountain was the sanctuary; but when we take in connection 
with it the language of David, which is a record of the fulfil- 
ment of Moses' prediction, and an inspired commentary upon 
his language, such an idea cannot be entertained; for David 
plainly says that the mountain was simply the ' ' border ' '* of the 
sanctuary; and that in that border, or land, the sanctuary was 
< ' built ' ' like high palaces, reference being made to the beautiful 
temple of the Jews, the center and symbol of all their worship. 
But whoever will read carefully Ex. 15 : 17, will see that not 
even an inference is necessary that Moses by the word sanctu- 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 



163 



ary means the mountain of inheritance, much less the whole 
land of Palestine. In the freedom of poetic license, he employs 
elliptical expressions, and passes rapidly from one idea or 
object to another. First, the inheritance engages his attention, 
and he speaks of it; then the fact that the Lord was to dwell 
there; then the place he was to provide for his dwelling there ; 
namely, the sanctuary which he would cause to be built. David 
thus associates Mount Zion and Judah together in Ps. 78 : 68, 
because Zion was located in Judah. 

The three texts, Ex. 15 : 17; Ps. 78 : 54, 69, are the ones 
chiefly relied on to prove that the land of Canaan is the 
sanctuary; but, singularly enough, the two latter, in plain 
language, clear away the ambiguity of the first, and utterly 
disprove the claim that is based thereon. 

Having disposed of the main proof on this point, it would 
hardly seem worth while to spend time with those texts from 
which only inferences can be drawn. As there is, however, 
only one even of this class, we will refer to it, that no point 
may be left unnoticed. Isa. 63:18: "The people of thy 
holiness have possessed it but a little while : our adversaries 
have trodden down thy sanctuary." This language is as 
applicable to the temple as to the land; for when the land was 
overrun with the enemies of Israel, their temple was laid in 
ruins. This is plainly stated in verse 11 of the next chapter : 
"Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised 
thee, is burned up with fire." The text therefore proves 
nothing for this view. 

Respecting the earth or the land of Canaan as the sanctuary, 
we offer one thought more. If either constitutes the sanctuary, 
it should not only be somewhere described as such, but the 
same idea should be carried through to the end, and the pu- 
rification of the earth or of Palestine should be called the 
cleansing of the sanctuary. The earth is indeed defiled, and it 
is to be purified by fire; but fire, as we shall see, is not the 
agent which is used in the cleansing of the sanctuary; and this 
purification of the earth, or any part of it, is nowhere in the 
Bible called the cleansing of the sanctuary. 



164 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



3. Is the church the sanctuary ? The evident mistrust with 
which this idea is suggested, is a virtual surrender of the argu- 
ment before it is presented. The one solitary text adduced in 
its support is Ps. 114 : 1, 2: u When Israel went out of Egypt, 
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language ; Judah 
was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. ' ' Should we take 
this text in its most literal sense, what would it prove respecting 
the sanctuary ? It would prove that the sanctuary was confined 
to one of the twelve tribes; and hence that a portion of the 
church only, not the whole of it, constitutes the sanctuary. 
But this, proving too little for the theory under consideration, 
proves nothing. Why Judah is called the sanctuary in the text 
quoted, need not be a matter of perplexity, when we remember 
that God chose Jerusalem, which was in Judah, as the place of 
his sanctuary. " But chose," says David, "the tribe of Ju- 
dah, the Mount Zion which he loved. And he built his sanc- 
tuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established 
forever. ' ' This clearly shows the connection which existed be- 
tween Judah and the sanctuary. That tribe itself was not the 
sanctuary ; but it is once spoken of as such when Israel came 
forth from Egypt, because God purposed that in the midst of 
the territory of that tribe his sanctuary should be located. But 
even if it could be shown that the church is anywhere called 
the sanctuary, it would be of no consequence to our present 
purpose, which is to determine what constitutes the sanctuary 
of Dan. 8 : 13, 14 ; for the church is there spoken of as an- 
other object: "To give both the sanctuary and the host to be 
trodden under foot. ' ' That by the term host the church is here 
meant, none will dispute; the sanctuary is therefore another 
and a different object. 

4. Is the tenvple in heaven the sanctuary ? There now re- 
mains but this one claim to be examined; namely, that the 
sanctuary mentioned in the text is what Paul calls in Hebrews 
the 4 ' true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man," 
to which he expressly gives the name of " the sanctuary," and 
which he locates in ' ' the heavens ; " of which sanctuary, there 
existed, under the former dispensation, first in the tabernacle 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 165 

built by Moses, and afterward in the temple at Jerusalem, a 
pattern, type, or figure. And let it be particularly noticed, 
that on the view here suggested rests our only hope of ever un- 
derstanding this question ; for we have seen that all other posi- 
tions are untenable. No other object which has ever been 
supposed by any one to be the sanctuary — the earth, the land 
of Canaan, or the church — can for a moment support such a 
claim. If, therefore, we do not find it in the object before us, 
we may abandon the search in utter despair ; we may discard 
so much of revelation as still unrevealed, and may cut out from 
the sacred page, as so much useless reading, the numerous pas- 
sages which speak on this subject. All those, therefore, who, 
rather than that so important a subject should go by default, 
are willing to lay aside all preconceived opinions and cherished 
views, will approach the position before us with intense 
anxiety and unbounded interest. They will lay hold of any 
evidence that may here be given us, as a man bewildered in a 
labyrinth of darkness would lay hold of the thread which was 
his only guide to lead him forth again to light. 

It will be safe for us to put ourselves in imagination in the 
place of Daniel, and view the subject from his standpoint. 
What would he understand by the term sanctuary as addressed 
to him ? If we can ascertain this, it will not be difiicult to 
arrive at correct conclusions on this subject. His mind would 
inevitably turn, on the mention of that word, to the sanctuary 
of that dispensation; and certainly he well knew what that was. 
His mind did turn to Jerusalem, the city of his fathers, which 
was then in ruins, and to their ' ' beautiful house, ' ' which, as 
Isaiah laments, was burned with fire. And so, as was his 
wont, with his face turned toward the place of their once ven- 
erated temple, he prayed God to cause his face to shine upon 
his sanctuary, which was desolate. By the word sanctuary 
Daniel evidently understood their temple at Jerusalem. 

But Paul bears testimony which is most explicit on this 
point. Heb. 9:1: " Then verily the first covenant had also 
ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary." This 
is the very point which at present we are concerned to deter- 



166 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



mine : What was the sanctuary of the first covenant ? Paul 
proceeds to tell us. Hear him. Yerses 2-5 : " For there was 
a tabernacle made; the first [or first apartment], wherein was 
the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is 
called the sanctuary {margin, the holy]. And after the second 
veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; which 
had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid 
round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had 
manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the 
covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the 
mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly." 

There is no mistaking the object to which Paul here has 
reference. It is the tabernacle erected by Moses according to 
the direction of the Lord (which was afterward merged into the 
temple at Jerusalem), with a holy and a most holy place, and 
.various vessels of service, as here set forth. A full description 
of this building, with its various vessels and their uses, will 
be found in Exodus, chapter 25 and onward. If the reader 
is not familiar with this subject, he is requested to turn and 
closely examine the description of this building. This, Paul 
plainly says, was the sanctuary of the first covenant. And we 
wish the reader carefully to mark the logical value of this dec- 
laration. By telling us what did positively for a time constitute 
the sanctuary, Paul sets us on the right track of inquiry. He 
gives us a basis on which to work. For a time, the field is 
cleared of all doubt and all obstacles. During the time covered 
by the first covenant, which reached from Sinai to Christ, we 
have before us a distinct and plainly defined object, minutely 
described by Moses, and declared by Paul to be the sanctuary 
during that time. 

But Paul's language has greater significance even than this. 
It forever annihilates the claims which are put forth in behalf 
of the earth, the land of Canaan, or the church, as the sanc- 
tuary; for the arguments which would prove them to be the 
sanctuary at any time, would prove them to be such under the 
old dispensation. If Canaan was at any time the sanctuary, 
it was such when Israel was planted in it, If the church was 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 



167 



ever the sanctuary, it was such when Israel was led forth from 
Egypt. If the earth was ever the sanctuary, it was such during 
the period of which we speak. To this period the arguments 
urged in their favor apply as fully as to any other period ; and 
if they were not the sanctuary during this time, then all the 
arguments are destroyed which would show that they ever were, 
or ever could be, the sanctuary. But were they the sanctuary 
during that time? This is a final question for these theories; 
and Paul decides it in the negative, by describing to us the 
tabernacle of Moses, and telling us that that — not the earth, 
nor Canaan, nor the church — was the sanctuary of that dis- 
pensation. 

And this building answers in every respect to the defini- 
tion of the term, and the use for which the sanctuary was 
designed. 

1. It was the earthly dwelling-place of God. u Let them 
make me a sanctuary," said he to Moses, u that I may dwell 
among them." Ex. 25:8. In this tabernacle, which they 
erected according to his instructions, he manifested his pres- 
ence. 2. It was a holy, or sacred place, — u the holy sanc- 
tuary." Lev. 16 : 33. 3. In the word of God it is over and 
over again called the sanctuary. Of the one hundred and forty 
instances in which the word is used in the Old Testament, it 
refers in almost every case to this building. 

The tabernacle was at first constructed in such a manner as 
to be adapted to the condition of the children of Israel at that 
time. They were just entering upon their forty years 5 wander- 
ing in the wilderness, when this building was set up in their 
midst as the habitation of God, and the center of their religious 
worship. Journeying was a necessity, and removals were fre- 
quent. It would be necessary that the tabernacle should often 
be moved from place to place. It was, therefore, so fashioned 
of movable parts, the sides being composed of upright boards, 
and the covering consisting of curtains of linen and dyed skins, 
that it could be readily taken down, conveniently transported, 
and easily erected at each successive stage of their journey. 
After entering the promised land, this temporary structure in 



168 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



time gave place to the magnificent temple of Solomon. In this 
more permanent form it existed, saving only the time it lay in 
ruins in Daniel's day, till its final destruction by the Komans 
in a. d. 70. 

This is the only sanctuary connected with the earth, con- 
cerning which the Bible gives us any instruction, or history 
any record. But is there nowhere any other? This was the 
sanctuary of the first covenant; with that covenant it came to 
an end ; is there no sanctuary which pertains to the second, 
or new covenant ? There must be ; otherwise the analogy is 
lacking between these covenants; and in this case the first cove- 
nant had a system of worship, which, though minutely de- 
scribed, is unintelligible, and the second covenant has a system 
of worship which is indefinite and obscure. And Paul virtu- 
ally asserts that the new covenant, in force since the death of 
Christ, the testator, has a sanctuary; for when, in contrasting 
the two covenants, as he does in the book of Hebrews, he says 
in chapter 9 : 1 that the first covenant "had also ordinances of 
divine service, and a worldly sanctuary," it is the same as 
saying that the new covenant has likewise its services and ' its 
sanctuary. Furthermore, in verse 8 of this chapter he speaks 
of the worldly sanctuary as the first tabernacle. If that was 
the first, there must be a second ; and as the first tabernacle 
existed so long as the first covenant was in force, when that 
covenant came to an end, the second tabernacle must have 
taken the place of the first, and must be the sanctuary of the 
new covenant. There can be no. evading this conclusion. 

Where, then, shall we look for the sanctuary of the new 
covenant ? Paul, by the use of the word also, in Heb. 9:1, 
intimates that he had before spoken of this sanctuary. We 
turn back to the beginning of the previous chapter, and find 
him summing up his foregoing arguments as follows : 4 < Now of 
the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have 
such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne 
of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, 
and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not 
man." Can there be any doubt that we have in this text the 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 



169 



sanctuary of the new covenant ? A plain allusion is here made 
to the sanctuary of the first covenant. That was pitched by 5 
man, erected by Moses; this was pitched by the Lord, not by 
man. That was the place where the earthly priests performed 
their ministry; this is the place where Christ, the High Priest 
of the new covenant, performs his ministry. That was on 
earth; this is in heaven. That was therefore very properly 
called by Paul a "worldly sanctuary;" this is a "heavenly 
one." 

This view is further sustained by the fact that the sanctuary 
built by Moses was not an original structure, but was built 
after a pattern. The great original existed somewhere else ; 
what Moses constructed was but a type, or model. Listen to 
the directions the Lord gave him on this point: "According to 
all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and 
the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye 
make it. " Ex. 25 : 9. "And look that thou make them after 
their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount. ' ' Verse 
40. ( To the same end see Ex. 26 : 30 ; 27 : 8 ; Acts 7 : M.) 

Now of what was the earthly sanctuary a type, or figure.? 
Answer : Of the sanctuary of the new covenant, the ' ' true 
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." The rela- 
tion which the first covenant sustains to the second throughout, 
is that of type to antitype. Its sacrifices were types of the 
greater sacrifice of this dispensation; its priests were types of 
our Lord, in his more perfect priesthood; their ministry was 
performed unto the shadow and example of the ministry of our 
High Priest above; and the sanctuary where they ministered, 
was a type, or figure, of the true sanctuary in heaven, where 
our Lord performs his ministry. 

All these facts are plainly stated by Paul in a few verses 
to the Hebrews. Chapter 8 : 4, 5 : " For if he [Christ] were 
on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are 
priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto 
the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was 
admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: 
for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the 



170 



PROPHECY OF DAXIEL. 



pattern showed to thee in the mount." This testimony shows 
that the ministry of the earthly priests was a shadow of Christ's 
priesthood; and the evidence Paul brings forward to prove it, 
is the direction which God gave to Moses to make the taber- 
nacle, according to the pattern showed him in the mount. 
This clearly identifies the pattern showed to Moses in the 
mount with the sanctuary, or true tabernacle, in heaven, where 
our Lord ministers, mentioned three verses before. 

In chapter 9:8, 9, Paul further says : " The Holy Ghost 
this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all [Greek, holy 
places, plural] was not yet made manifest, while as the first 
tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time 
then present," etc. While the first tabernacle stood, and the 
first covenant was in force, the ministration of the more perfect 
tabernacle and the work of the new covenant was not, of 
course, carried forward. But when Christ came, a high priest 
of good things to come, when the first tabernacle had served 
its purpose, and the first covenant had ceased, then Christ, 
raised to the throne of the Majesty in the heavens as a minister 
of the true sanctuary, entered by his own blood (verse 12) 
' ' into the holy place [where also the Greek has the plural, the 
holy places], having obtained eternal redemption for us." Of 
these heavenly holy places, therefore, the first tabernacle was a 
figure for the time then present. If any further testimony is 
needed, he speaks, in verse 23, of the earthly tabernacle, with 
its apartments and instruments, as paUerm of things in the 
heavens; and in verse 24, he calls the holy places made with 
hands, that is, the earthly tabernacle erected by Moses, figures 
of the true; that is, the tabernacle in heaven. 

This view is still further corroborated by the testimony of 
John. Among the things which he was permitted to behold in 
heaven, he saw seven lamps of fire burning before the throne 
(Rev. 4:5); he saw an altar of incense, and a golden censer 
(chapter 8:3); he saw the ark of God's testament (chapter 
11 : 19); and all this in connection with a "temple" in heaven. 
Rev. 11:19; 15 : S. These objects every Bible reader must 
at once recognize as implements of the sanctuary. They owed 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 



171 



their existence to the sanctuary, and were confined to it, to be 
employed in the ministration connected therewith. As without 
the sanctuary they had not existed, so wherever we find these, 
we may know that there is the sanctuary; and hence the fact 
that John saw these things in heaven in this dispensation, is 
proof that there is a sanctuary there, and that he was permitted 
to behold it. 

However reluctant a person may have been to acknowledge 
that there is a sanctuary in heaven, the testimony that has been 
presented is certainly sufficient to prove this fact. Paul says 
that the tabernacle of Moses was the sanctuary of the first 
covenant. Moses says that God showed him in the mount a 
pattern, according to which he was to make this tabernacle. 
Paul testifies again that Moses did make it according to the 
pattern, and that the pattern was the true tabernacle in heaven, 
which the Lord pitched, and not man; and that of this heavenly 
sanctuary the tabernacle erected with hands was a true figure, 
or representation. And finally, J ohn, to corroborate the state- 
ment of Paul that this sanctuary is in heaven, bears testimony, 
as an eye-witness, that he beheld it there. What further 
testimony could be required \ Nay, more, . what further is 
conceivable ? 

So far as the question as to what constitutes the sanctuary 
is concerned, we now have the subject before us in one har- 
monious whole. The sanctuary of the Bible — mark it, all, 
dispute it, who can — consists, first, of the typical tabernacle 
established with the Hebrews at the exode from Egypt, which 
was the sanctuary of the first covenant; and, secondly, of the 
true tabernacle in heaven, of which the former was a type, or 
figure, which is the sanctuary of the new covenant. These are 
inseparably connected together as type and antitype. From 
the antitype we go back to the type, and from the type we are 
carried forward naturally and inevitably to the antitype. 

We have said that Daniel would at once understand by the 
word sanctuary the sanctuary of his people at Jerusalem; so 
would any one under that dispensation. But does the declara- 
tion of Dan. 8 : li have reference to that sanctuary ? That 



172 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



depends upon the time to which it applies. All the declarations 
respecting the sanctuary which apply under the old dispensation, 
have respect, of course, to the sanctuary of that dispensation; 
and ail those declarations which apply in this dispensation, 
must have reference to the sanctuary of this dispensation. If 
the 2300 days, at the termination of which the sanctuary is to 
be cleansed, ended in the former dispensation, the sanctuary to 
be cleansed was the sanctuary of that time. If they reach 
over into this dispensation, the sanctuary to which reference is 
made is the sanctuary of this dispensation, — the new-covenant 
sanctuary in heaven. This is a point which can be determined 
only by a further argument on the 2300 days; and this will be 
found in remarks on Dan. 9 : 2tt, where the subject of time is 
resumed and explained. 

What we have thus far said respecting the sanctuary, has 
been only incidental to the main question in the prophecy. 
That question has respect to its cleansing. Unto 2300 days, 
then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. But it was necessary 
first to determine what constituted the sanctuary, before we 
could understandingly examine the question of its cleansing. 
For this we are now prepared. 

Having learned what constitutes the sanctuary, the question 
of its cleansing and how it is accomplished, is soon decided. 
It has been noticed that whatever constitutes the sanctuary of 
the Bible, must have some service connected with it which is 
called its cleansing. There is no account in the Bible of any 
work so named as pertaining to this earth, the land of Canaan, 
or the church ; which is good evidence that none of these 
objects constitutes the sanctuary ; there is such a service con- 
nected with the object which we have shown to be the sanc- 
tuary, and which, in reference to both the earthly building and 
the heavenly temple, is called its cleansing. 

Does the reader object to the idea of there being anything 
in heaven which is to be cleansed ? Is this a barrier in the 
way of his receiving the view here presented ? Then his con- 
troversy is not with this work, but with Paul, who positively 
affirms this fact. But before he decides against the • apostle, 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 



173 



we ask the objector to examine carefully in reference to the na- 
ture of this cleansing, as he is here undoubtedly laboring under 
an utter misapprehension. The following are the plain terms 
in which Paul affirms the cleansing of both the earthly and the 
heavenly sanctuary : ' 4 And almost all things are by the law 
purged with blood ; and without shedding of blood is no remis- 
sion. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in 
the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly 
things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ' ' Heb. 9 : 
22, 23. In the light of foregoing arguments, this may be para- 
phrased thus : "It was therefore necessary that the tabernacle, 
as erected by Moses, with its sacred vessels, which were patterns 
of the true sanctuary in heaven, should be purified, or cleansed, 
with the blood of calves and goats ; but the heavenly things 
themselves, the sanctuary of this dispensation, the true taber- 
nacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man, must be cleansed 
with better sacrifices, even with the blood of Christ. ' ' 

We now inquire, What is the nature of this cleansing, and 
how is it to be accomplished ? According to the language of 
Paul, just quoted, it is performed by means of blood. The 
cleansing is not, therefore, a cleansing from physical unclean- 
ness or impurity; for blood is not the agent used in such a 
work. And this consideration should satisfy the objector's 
mind in regard to the cleansing of the heavenly things. The 
fact that Paul speaks of heavenly things to be cleansed, does 
not prove that there is any physical impurity in heaven; for 
that is not the kind of cleansing to which he refers. The 
reason Paul assigns why this cleansing is performed with 
blood, is because without the shedding of blood there is no 
remission, 

Eemission, then, that is, the putting away of sin, is the 
work to be done. The cleansing, therefore, is not physical 
cleansing, but a cleansing from sin. But how came sins con- 
nected with the sanctuary, either the earthly or the heavenly, 
that it should need to be cleansed from them ? This question 
is answered by the ministration connected with the type, to 
which we now turn. 



174 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



The closing chapters of Exodus give us an account of 
the construction of the earthly sanctuary, and the arrangement 
of the service connected therewith. Leviticus opens with an 
account of the ministration which was there to be performed. 
All that it is to our purpose to notice here, is one particular 
branch of the service, which was performed as follows : The 
person who had committed sin, brought his victim to the door 
of the tabernacle. Upon the head of this victim he placed his 
hand for a moment, and, as we may reasonably infer, confessed 
over him his sin. By this expressive act he signified that he 
had sinned, and was worthy of death, but that in his stead he 
consecrated his victim, and transferred his guilt to it. With 
his own hand (and what must have been his emotions ?) he 
then took the life of his victim on account of that guilt. The 
law demanded the life of the transgressor for his disobedience; 
the life is in the blood (Lev. 17 : 11, 14); hence without the 
shedding of blood, there is no remission; with the shedding of 
blood, remission is possible; for the demand of life by the law is 
thus satisfied. The blood of the victim, representative of a 
forfeited life, and the vehicle of its guilt, was then taken by 
the priest, and ministered before the Lord. 

The sin of the individual was thus, by his confession, by the 
slaying of the victim, and by the ministry of the priest, trans- 
ferred from himself to the sanctuary. Yictim after victim was 
thus offered by the people. Day by day the work went for- 
ward; and thus the sanctuary continually became the receptacle 
of the sins of the congregation. But this was not the final 
disposition of these sins. The accumulated guilt was removed 
by a special service, which was called the cleansing of the sanc- 
tuary. This service, in the type, occupied one day in the year; 
and the tenth day of the seventh month, on which it was per- 
formed, was called the day of atonement. On this day, while 
all Israel refrained from work and afflicted their souls, the 
priest brought two goats, and presented them before the Lord 
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. On these 
goats he cast lots; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for 
the scape-goat. The one upon which the Lord's lot fell, was 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 



175 



then slain, and his blood was carried by the priest into the most 
holy place of the sanctuary, and sprinkled upon the mercy-seat. 
And this was the only day on which he was permitted to enter 
into that apartment. Coming forth, he was then to lay both 
his hands upon the head of the scape-goat, confess over him 
all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their trans- 
gressions in all their sins, and, thus putting them upon his 
head (Lev. 16 : 21), he was to send him away by the hand of 
a fit man into a land not inhabited, a land of separation, or 
forgetfulness, the goat never again to appear in the camp of 
Israel, and the sins of the people to be remembered against 
them no more. This service was for the purpose of cleansing 
the people from their sins, and cleansing the sanctuary and its 
sacred vessels. Lev. 16 : 30, 33. By this process, sin was 
removed, — but only in figure; for all that work was typical. 

The reader to whom these views are new will be ready 
here to inquire, perhaps, with some astonishment, what this 
strange work could possibly be designed to typify; what there 
is in this dispensation which it was designed to prefigure. We 
answer, A similar work in the ministration of Christ, as Paul 
clearly teaches. After stating, in Hebrews 8, that Christ is 
the minister of the true tabernacle, the sanctuary in heaven, he 
states that the priests on earth served unto the example and 
shadow of heavenly things. In other words, the work of the 
earthly priests was a shadow, an example, a correct repre- 
sentation, so far as it could be carried out by mortals, of the 
ministration of Christ above. These priests ministered in both 
apartments of the earthly tabernacle, Christ therefore ministers 
in both apartments of the heavenly temple; for that temple 
has two apartments, or it was not correctly represented by the 
earthly; and our Lord officiates in both, or the service of the 
priest on earth was not a correct shadow of his work. But 
Paul directly states that he ministers in both apartments; for 
he says that he has entered into the holy place (Greek, rd ayia, 
the holy places) by his own blood. Heb. 9 : 12. There is 
therefore a work performed by Christ in his ministry in the 
heavenly temple, corresponding to that performed by the priests 



176 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



in both apartments of the earthly building. But the work in 
the second apartment, or most holy place, was a special work 
to close the yearly round of service, and cleanse the sanctuary. 
Hence Christ's ministration in the second apartment of the 
heavenly sanctuary must be a work of like nature, and con- 
stitute the close of his work as our great High Priest, and the 
cleansing of that sanctuary. 

As through the sacrifices of a former dispensation the sins 
of the people were transferred in figure by the priests to the 
earthly sanctuary, where those priests ministered, so ever since 
Christ ascended to be our intercessor in the presence of his 
Father, the sins of all those who sincerely seek pardon through 
him, are transferred in fact to the heavenly sanctuary where 
he ministers. Whether Christ ministers for us in the heavenly 
holy places with his own blood literally, or only by virtue of 
its merits, we need not stop to inquire. Suffice it to say, that 
his blood has been shed, and through that blood remission of 
sins is secured in fact, which was obtained only in figure 
through the blood of the calves and goats of the former dis- 
pensation. But those sacrifices had real virtue in this respect : 
they signified faith in a real sacrifice to come; and thus those 
who employed them have an equal interest in the work of 
Christ with those who in this dispensation come to him 
by faith, through the ordinances of the gospel. 

The continual transfer of sins to the heavenly sanctuary 
(and if they are not thus transferred, will any one, in the light 
of the types, and in view of the language of Paul, explain the 
nature of the work of Christ in our behalf ?) — this continual 
transfer, we say, of sins to the heavenly sanctuary, makes its 
cleansing necessary on the same ground that a like work was 
required in the earthly sanctuary. 

An important distinction between the two ministrations 
must here be noticed. In the earthly tabernacle, a complete 
round of service was accomplished every year. For three 
hundred and fifty-nine days, in their ordinary years, the minis- 
tration went forward in the first apartment. One day's work 
in the most holy completed the yearly round. The work then 



CHAPTER S, VERSES 13, 14. 



177 



commenced again in the holy place, and went forward till 
another day of atonement completed the year's work. And so 
on, year by year. This continual repetition of the work was 
necessary on account of the short lives of mortal priests. But 
no such necessity exists in the case of our divine Lord, who 
ever liveth to make intercession for us. (See Heb. 7 : 23-25.) 
Hence the work of the heavenly sanctuary, instead of being a 
yearly work, is performed once for all. Instead of being 
repeated year by year, one grand cycle is allotted to it, in 
which it is carried forward, and finished, never to be 
repeated 

One year's round of service in the earthly sanctuary repre- 
sented the entire work of the sanctuary above. In the type, 
the cleansing of the sanctuary was the brief closing work of 
the year's service. In the antitype, the cleansing of the 
sanctuary must be the closing work of Christ, our great High 
Priest, in the tabernacle on high. In the type, to cleanse the 
sanctuary, the high priest entered into the most holy place to 
minister in the presence of God before the ark of his testament. 
In the antitype, when the time comes for the cleansing of the 
sanctuary, our High Priest, in like manner, enters into the 
most holy place to make a final end of his intercessory work in 
behalf of mankind. We confidently affirm that no other con- 
clusion can be arrived at on this subject without doing despite 
to the unequivocal testimony of God's word. 

Reader, do you now see the importance of this subject % Do 
you begin to perceive what an object.of interest for all the world 
is the sanctuary of God % Do you see that the whole work of 
salvation centers there, and that when the work is done, pro- 
bation is ended, and the cases of the saved and lost are eter- 
nally decided ? Do you see that the cleansing of the sanctuary 
is a brief and special work, by which the great scheme is for- 
ever finished % Do you see that if it can be made known when 
this work of cleansing commences, it is a solemn announcement 
to the world that salvation's last hour is reached, and is fast 
hastening to its close ? And this is what the prophecy is de- 
signed to show. It" is to make known the commencement of 
12 



178 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



this momentous work. ' ' Unto two thousand and three hundred 
days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." 

In advance of any argument on the nature and application 
of these days, the position may be safely taken that they reach 
to the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, for the earthly was 
to be cleansed each year; and we make the prophet utter non- 
sense, if we understand him as saying that at the end of 2300 
days, a period of time over six years in length, even if we take 
them literally, an event should take place which was to occur 
regularly every year. The heavenly sanctuary is the one in 
which the decision of all cases is to be rendered. The prog- 
ress of the work there is what it especially concerns mankind 
to know. If people understood the bearing of these subjects 
on their eternal interests, with what earnestness and anxiety 
would they give them their most careful and prayerful study. 
-See on chapter 9 : 20 and onward, an argument on the 2300 
days, showing at what point they terminated, and when the 
solemn work of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began. 

Yerse 15. And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the 
vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me 
as the appearance of a man. 16. And I heard a man's voice between the 
banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to under- 
stand the vision. 

We now enter upon an interpretation of the vision. And 
first of all we have mention of Daniel's solicitude, and his 
efforts to understand these things. He sought for the meaning. 
Those who have given to prophetic subjects their careful and 
earnest attention, are not the ones who are unconcerned in such 
matters. They only can tread with indifference over a mine 
of gold, who do not know that a bed of precious metal lies 
beneath their feet. Immediately there stood before the prophet 
as the appearance of a man. The text does not say it was a 
man, as some would fain have us think, who wish to prove that 
angels are dead men, and who resort to such ' texts as this for 
their evidence. It says, "The appearance of a man," from 
which we are evidently to understand an angel in human form. 
And he heard a man's voice; that is, the voice of an angel, as 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 15-19. 



179 



of a man, speaking. The commandment given was, to make 
this man, Daniel, understand the vision. It was addressed to 
Gabriel, a name that signifies "the mighty one." He con- 
tinues his instruction to Daniel in chapter 9. Under the new 
dispensation he was commissioned to announce the birth of 
John the Baptist to his father Zacharias (Luke 1 : 11); and that 
of the Messiah to the virgin Mary, verse 26. To Zacharias, he 
introduced himself with these words : "I am Gabriel, that? 
stand in the presence of God." From this it appears that he 
was an angel of a high order and superior dignity; but the one 
who here addressed him was evidently higher in rank, and had 
power to command and control his actions. This was probably 
no other than the archangel Michael, or Christ, between whom 
and Gabriel, alone, a knowledge of the matters communicated 
to Daniel existed. (See chapter 10 : 21.) 

Verse 17. So he came near where I stood : and when he came, I was 
afraid, and fell upon my face : but he said unto me, Understand, O son of 
man : for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 18. Now as he was 
speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground : 
but he touched me, and set me upright. 19. And he said, Behold, I will 
make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation : for at 
the time appointed the end shall be. 

Under similar circumstances to those here narrated, John 
fell down before the feet of an angel, but it was for the pur- 
pose of worship. Rev. 19:10; 22 : 8. Daniel seems to have 
been completely overcome by the majesty of the heavenly mes- 
senger. He prostrated himself with his face to the ground, 
probably as though in a deep sleep, but not really so. Sorrow, 
it is true, caused the disciples to sleep ; but fear, as in this 
case, would hardly have that effect. The angel gently laid 
his hand upon him to give him assurance (how many times 
have mortals been told by heavenly beings to "fear not" ! ), 
and from this helpless and prostrate condition set him upright. 
With a general statement that at the time appointed the end 
shall be, and that he will make him know what shall be in the 
last end of the indignation, he enters upon an interpretation of 
the vision. The indignation must be understood to cover a pe- 



180 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



riod of time. What time \ God told his people Israel that he 
would pour upon them his indignation for their wickedness : 
and thug he gave directions concerning the ' c profane wicked 
prince of Israel:" "Kemove the diadem, and take off the 
crown. ... I will overturn, overturn, overturn it : and it 
shall be no more, until he come whose right it is ; and I will 
give it him." Eze. 21 : 25-27, 31. 

Here is the period of God's indignation against his cove- 
nant people ; the period during which the sanctuary and host 
are to be trodden under foot. The diadem was removed, and 
the crown taken off, when Israel was subjected to the kingdom 
of Babylon. It was overturned again by the Medes and Per- 
sians, again by the Grecians, again by the Komans, correspond- 
ing to the three times the word is repeated by the prophet. 
The Jews then having rejected Christ, were soon scattered 
abroad over the face of the earth ; and spiritual Israel has 
taken the place of the literal seed, but they are in subjection 
to earthly powers, and will be till the throne of David is again 
setup, — till He who is its rightful heir, the Messiah, the Prince 
of peace, shall come, and then it will be given him. Then the 
indignation will have ceased. What shall take place in the 
last end of this period, the angel is now to make known to 
Daniel. 

Verse 20. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings 
of Media and Persia. 21. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia : and 
the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22. Now that 
being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up 
out of the nation, but not in his power. 

As the disciples said to the Lord, so may we here say of the 
angel who spake to Daniel, ' ' Lo, now speakest thou plainly, 
and speakest no proverb. " This is an explanation of the vision 
in language as plain as need be given. ( See on verses 3 — 8.) 
The distinguishing feature of the Persian empire, the union of 
the two nationalities which composed it, is represented by the 
two horns of the ram. Grecia attained its greatest glory as a 
unit under the leadership of Alexander the Great, a general as 
famous as the world has ever seen. This part of her history is 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 20-25. 



181 



represented by the first phase of the goat, during which time 
the one notable horn symbolized Alexander the Great. Upon 
his death, the kingdom fell into fragments, but almost imme- 
diately consolidated into four grand divisions, represented by 
the second phase of the goat, when it had four horns which 
came up in the place of the first, which was broken. These 
divisions did not stand in his power. None of them possessed 
the strength of the original kingdom. These great way marks 
in history, on which the historian bestows volumes, the inspired 
penman here gives us in sharp outline, with a few strokes of 
the pencil and a few dashes of the pen. 

Terse 23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the trans- 
gressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and under- 
standing dark sentences, shall stand up. 24. And his power shall 'be 
mighty, but not by his own power : and he shall destroy wonderfully, 
and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the 
holy people. 25. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to 
prosper in his hand : and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by 
peace shall destroy many : he shall also stand up against the Prince of 
princes ; but he shall be broken without hand. 

This power succeeds to the four divisions of the goat king- 
dom in the latter time of their kingdom, that is, toward the 
termination of their career. It is, of course, the same as the 
little horn of verse 9 and onward. Apply it to Rome, as set 
forth in remarks on verse 9, and all is harmonious and clear. 

" A king of fierce countenance. " Moses, in predicting pun- 
ishment to come upon the Jews from this same power, calls it 
< l a nation of fierce countenance." Deut. 28:49, 50. No 
people made a more formidable appearance in warlike array 
than the Romans. u Understanding dark sentences. " Moses, 
in the scripture just referred to says, ' ' Whose tongue thou 
shalt not understand." This could not be said of the Babylo- 
nians, Persians, or Greeks, in reference to the Jews ; for the 
Chaldean and Greek languages were used to a greater or less 
extent in Palestine. This was not the case, however, with the 
Latin. 

' ' When the transgressors are come to the full. ' ' All along, 
the connection between God's people and their oppressors is 



182 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



kept in view. It was on account of the transgressions of his 
people that they were sold into captivity. And their continu- 
ance in sin brought more and more severe punishment. At no 
time were the Jews more corrupt, morally, as a nation, than at 
the time they came under the jurisdiction of the Romans. 

"Mighty, but not by his own power." The success of the 
Komans was owing largely to the aid of their allies, and divi- 
sions among their enemies, of which they were ever ready to 
take advantage. 

"He shall destroy wonderfully." The Lord told the Jews 
by the prophet Ezekiel that he would deliver them to men who 
were 6 ' skilful to destroy. ' ' How full of meaning is such a 
description, and how applicable to the Romans ! In taking Je- 
rusalem, they slew eleven hundred thousand Jews, and made 
ninety- seven thousand captives. So wonderfully did they de- 
stroy this once mighty and holy people. 

And what they could not accomplish by force, they secured 
by artifice. Their flatteries, fraud, and corruption were as fatal 
as then* thunderbolts of war. And Rome, finally, in the per- 
son of one of its governors, stood up against the Prince of 
princes, by giving sentence of death against Jesus Christ. 
"But he shall be broken without hand," an expression which 
identifies the destruction of this power with the smiting of the 
image of chapter 2. 

Veese 26. And the vision of the evening and the morning which 
was told is true ; wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for 
many days. 27. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days ; after- 
ward I rose up, and did the king's business ; and I was astonished at the 
vision, but none understood it. 

' ■ The vision of the evening and the morning, ' ' is that of the 
2300 days. In view of the long period of oppression, and the 
calamities which were to come upon his people, Daniel fainted, 
and was sick certain days. He was astonished at the vision, 
but did not understand it. Why did not Gabriel at this time 
fully carry out his instructions, and cause Daniel to understand 
the vision? — Because Daniel had received all that he could then 
bear. Further instruction is therefore deferred to a future time. 




Verse 1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the 
seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 
2. In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number 
of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, 
that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 



£IIE vision recorded in the preceding chapter was given in 
$ fc, the third year of Belshazzar, b. c. 538. In the same 
\j* year, which was also the first of Darius, the events 
narrated in this chapter occurred. Consequently, less than 
one year is passed over between these two chapters. Although 
Daniel, as prime minister of the foremost kingdom on the face 
of the earth, was cumbered with cares and burdens, he did not 
lei this deprive him of the privilege of studying into things of 
higher moment, even the purposes of God as revealed to his 
prophets. He understood by books, that is, the writings of 
Jeremiah, that God would accomplish seventy years in the 
captivity of his people. This prediction is found in Jer. 25 : 
12; 29 : 10. The knowledge of it, and the use that was made 
of it, shows that Jeremiah was early regarded as a divinely 
inspired prophet; otherwise his writings would not have been 
so soon collected, and so extensively copied. Though Daniel 
was for a time contemporary with him, he had a copy of his 
works which he carried with him in his captivity; and though 
he was so great a prophet himself, he was not above studying 
carefully what God might reveal to others of his servants. 

[183 J 



i84 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Commencing the seventy years b. c. 606, Daniel understood 
that they were. now drawing to their termination; and God had 
even commenced the fulfilment by overthrowing the kingdom 
of Babylon. 

Yerse 3. And I set my face unto the Lord. God, to seek by prayer 
and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. 

Because God has promised, we are not released from the 
responsibility of beseeching him for the fulfilment of his word. 
Daniel might have reasoned in this manner : God has promised 
to release his people at the end of the seventy years, and he 
will accomplish this promise ; I need not therefore concern 
myself at all in the matter. Daniel did not thus reason; but 
as the time drew near for the accomplishment of the word of 
the Lord, he set himself to seek the Lord with all his heart. 
And how earnestly he engaged in the work, even with fasting, 
and sackcloth, and ashes ! This was the year, probably, in 
which he was cast into the lion's den; and the prayer of which 
we here have an account, may have been the burden of that 
petition, which, regardless of the unrighteous human law which 
had been secured to the contrary, he offered before the Lord 
three times a day. 

Yeese 4. And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my con- 
fession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the cove- 
nant and mercy to them that love him. and to them that keep his 
commandments. 

We here have the opening of Daniel's wonderful prayer, — 
a prayer expressing such humiliation and contrition of heart 
that one must be without feeling who can read it unmoved. He 
commences by acknowledging the faithfulness of God. God 
never fails in any of his engagements with his followers. It 
was not from any lack on God's part in defending and up- 
holding them, that the Jews were then in the furnace of cap- 
tivity, but only on account of their sins. 

Yerse 5. We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have 
done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts 
and from thy judgments : 6. Neither have we hearkened unto thy serv- 
ants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 1-14. 



185 



and our fathers, and to all the people of the land 7. O Lord, right- 
eousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this 
day ; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto 
all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries 
whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have 
trespassed against thee. 8. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, 
to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned 
against thee. 9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, 
though we have rebelled against him; 10. Neither have we obeyed the 
voice of the Lord our God. to walk in his laws, which he set before us 
by his servants the prophets. 11. Yea. all Israel have transgressed thy 
law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore 
the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of 
Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12. And 
he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our 
judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the 
whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 
13. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet 
made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn 
from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14. Therefore hath the 
Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our 
God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not 
his voice. 

To this point Daniel's prayer is employed in making a full 
and heart-broken confession of sin. He vindicates fully the 
course of the Lord, acknowledging their sins to be the cause of 
all their calamities, as God had threatened them by the prophet 
Moses. And he does not discriminate in favor of himself. No 
self -righteousness appears in his petition. And although he 
had suffered long for others' sins, enduring seventy years of 
captivity for the wrongs of his people, himself meanwhile living 
a godly life, and receiving signal honors and blessings from the 
Lord, he brings no accusations against any one to the exclu- 
sion of others, pleads no sympathy for himself as a victim of 
others' wrongs, but ranks himself in with the rest, and says, 
TT^ have sinned, and unto us belongs confusion of face. And 
he acknowledges that they had not heeded the lessons God 
designed to teach them by their afflictions, by turning again 
unto him. 

An expression in the 14th verse is worthy of especial 
notice; "Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, 
and brought it upon us." Because sentence against an evil 



186 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons 
of men are fully set in them to do evil. But none may think 
that the Lord does not see, or that he has forgotten. His 
retributions will surely overtake the transgressor, against whom 
they are threatened, without deviation and without fail. He 
will watch upon the evil, and in his own good time will bring 
it to pass. 

Verse 15. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people 
forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee 
renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16. O 
Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger 
and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, th} 7 holj T mountain: 
because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and 
thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 17. Now there- 
fore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, 
and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for 
the Lord's sake. 18. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear ; open thine 
eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy 
name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our right- 
eousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; 
O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy 
city and thy people are called by thy name. 

The prophet now pleads the honor of the Lord's name as a 
reason why he desires that his petition should be granted. He 
refers to the fact of their deliverance from Egypt, and the great 
renown that had accrued to the Lord's name for all his won- 
derful works manifested among them. All this would be lost, 
should he now abandon them to perish. Moses used the same 
argument in pleading for Israel. Numbers 14. Not that God 
is moved with motives of ambition and vainglory; but when his 
people are jealous for the honor of his name, when they evince 
their love for him by pleading with him to work, not for their 
own personal benefit, but for his own glory, that his name may 
not be reproached and blasphemed among the heathen, this is 
acceptable with him. Daniel then intercedes for the city of 
Jerusalem, called by God's name, and his holy mountain, for 
which he has had such love, and beseeches him, for his mer- 
cies' sake, to let his anger be turned away. Finally, his mind 
centers upon the holy sanctuary, God's own dwelling-place 



CHAPTER 9. VERSES 15-21. 



1-7 



upon this earth, and he pleads that its desolations may be 
repaired. 

Daniel understood the seventy years of captivity to be near 
their termination. From his allusion to the sanctuary, it is 
evident that he so far misunderstood the important vision given 
him in chapter 8, as to suppose that the 2300 days, at the ter- 
mination of which the sanctuary was to be cleansed, expired at 
the same time. This misapprehension was at once corrected, 
when the angel came to give him further instruction in answer 
to his prayer, the narration of which is next given. 

Verse 20. And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing 
my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication 
before the Lord my Crod for the holy mountain of my God: 21. -Yea, 
whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen 
in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me 
about the time of the evening oblation. 

We here have the result of Daniel's supplication. He is 
suddenly interrupted by a heavenly messenger. The angel 
Gabriel, appearing again as he had before, in the form of a 
man, whom Daniel had seen in the vision at the beginning, 
touched him. A very important question is at this point to be 
determined. It is to be decided whether the vision of chapter 
8 has ever been explained, and can ever be understood. The 
question is, To what vision does Daniel refer by the expression, 
" the vision at the beginning" \ It will be conceded by all 
that it is a vision of which we have some previous record, and 
that in that vision we shall find some mention of Gabriel. We 
must go back beyond this ninth chapter; for all that we have 
in this chapter previous to this appearance of Gabriel, is simply 
a record of Daniel's prayer. Looking back, then, through 
previous chapters, we find mention of only three visions given 
to Daniel. 1. The interpretation of the dream of Nebuchad- 
nezzar was given in a night vision. Chapter 2 : 19. But there 
is no record of any angelic agency in the matter. 2. The 
vision of chapter 7. This was explained to Daniel by " one of 
of them that stood by,'' probably an angel; but we have no 
information as to what angel, nor is there anything in that 



188 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



vision which needed further explanation. 3. The vision of 
chapter 8. Here we find some particulars which show this to 
be the vision referred to. 1. Gabriel is there first brought to 
view by name in the book, and the only time previous to this 
occasion. 2. He was commanded to make Daniel understand 
the vision. 3. Daniel, at the conclusion, says he did not under- 
stand it, showing that Gabriel, at the conclusion of chapter 8, 
had not fulfilled his mission. There is no place in all the Bible 
where this instruction is carried out, if it be not in chapter 9. 
If, therefore, the vision of chapter 8 is not the one referred to, 
we have no record that Gabriel ever complied with the instruc- 
tions given him, or that that vision has ever been explained. 
5. The instruction which the angel now gives to Daniel, as we 
shall see from the following verses, does exactly complete what 
was lacking in chapter 8. These considerations prove beyond 
a doubt the connection between Daniel 8 and 9; and this con- 
clusion will be still further strengthened by a consideration of 
the angel's instructions. 

Verse 22. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O 
Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23. At 
the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I 
am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand 
the matter, and consider the vision. 

The manner in which Gabriel introduces himself on this 
occasion, shows that he has come to complete some unfulfilled 
mission. This can be nothing less than to carry out the 
instruction to make this man ' ' understand the vision, ' ' as 
recorded in chapter 8. "I am now come forth to give thee 
skill and understanding." As the charge still rested upon him 
to make Daniel understand, and as he explained to Daniel in 
chapter 8 all that he could then bear, and yet he did not under- 
stand the vision, he now comes to resume his work and com- 
plete his mission. As soon as Daniel commenced his fervent 
supplication, the commandment came forth ; that is, Gabriel 
received instruction to visit Daniel, and impart to him the 
requisite information. From the time it takes to read Daniel's 
prayer down to the point at which Gabriel made his appearance 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 22, 23. 



189 



upon the scene, the reader can judge of the speed with which 
this messenger was despatched from the court of heaven to this 
servant of God. No wonder that Daniel says he was caused 
to fly swiftly, or that Ezekiel compares the movements of these 
celestial beings to a flash of lightning. Eze, 1 : 14. "Under- 
stand the matter," he says to Daniel. What matter? — That, 
evidently, which he did not before understand, as stated in the 
last verse of chapter 8. " Consider the vision." What vision ? 
Not the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's image, nor the 
vision of chapter 7, for there was no difficulty with either of 
these; but the vision of chapter 8, in reference to which his 
mind was filled with doubt and astonishment. £ 4 1 am come 
to show thee," also said the angel. Show thee in reference 
to what ? — Certainly in reference to something wherein he was 
entertaining wrong ideas, and something, at the same time, 
pertaining to his prayer, as it was this which had called forth 
Gabriel on his mission at this time. 

But Daniel had no difficulty in understanding what the 
angel told him about the ram, he-goat, and little horn, the 
kingdoms of Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Nor was he 
mistaken in regard to the ending of the seventy years' captivity. 
But the burden of his petition was respecting the repairing of 
the desolations of the sanctuary, which lay in ruins ; and he 
had undoubtedly drawn the conclusion that when the end of 
the seventy years' captivity came, the time would come for the 
fulfilment of what the angel had said respecting the cleansing 
of the sanctuary at the end of the 2300 days. Now he must 
be set right. And this explains why at this particular time, 
so soon after the previous vision, instruction was sent to him. 
Now the seventy years of captivity were drawing to their 
close, and Daniel was applying to a wrong issue the instruction 
he had before received from the angel. He was failing into a 
misunderstanding, and was acting upon it ; hence he must not 
be suffered longer to remain ignorant of the true import of the 
former vision. "I am come to show thee ; " " understand the 
matter ; " " consider the vision. ' ' Such were the words used 
by the very person Daniel had seen in the former vision, and 



190 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

to whom lie had heard the command given, " Make this man to 
understand the vision," and who, he knew, had never carried 
out that instruction. But now he appears, and says, "I am 
now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 5 ' How 
could Daniel's mind be more emphatically carried back to the 
vision of chapter 8, and how could the connection between that 
visit of the angel and this be more distinctly shown, than by 
such words at such a time from such a person \ The consider- 
ations already presented are sufficient to show conclusively the 
connection between chapters 8 and 9 ; but this will still further 
appear in subsequent verses. 

One expression seems worthy of notice before we leave 
verse 23. It is the declaration of the angel to Daniel, "For 
thou art greatly beloved. 5 ' The angel brought this declaration 
direct from the courts of heaven. It expressed the state of 
feeling that existed there in regard to Daniel. Think of 
celestial beings, the highest in the universe, — the Father, the 
Son, the holy angels, — having such regard and esteem for a 
mortal man here upon earth as to authorize an angel to bear 
the message to him that he is greatly beloved ! This is one 
of the highest pinnacles of glory to which mortals can attain. 
Abraham reached another, when it could be said of him that he 
was the "friend of God ; " and Enoch another, when it could 
be said of him that he u walked with God.' ' Can we arrive at 
any such attainments ? God is no respecter of person ; but he 
is a respecter of character. If in virtue and godliness we/could 
equal these eminent men, we could move the divine love to 
equal depths. We, too, could be greatly beloved, — could be 
friends of God, and could walk with him. And we must be in 
our generation what they were in theirs. There is a figure 
used in reference to the last church which denotes the closest 
union with God: "If any man hear my voice, and open the 
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he 
with me." Rev. 3 : 20. To sup with the Lord denotes an 
intimacy equal to being greatly beloved by him, walking with 
him, or being his friend. How desirable a position ! " Alas for 
the evils of our nature, which cut us off from this communion ! 



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CHAPTER 9, VERSE 24. 



191 



Oh for grace to overcome these ! that we may enjoy this 
spiritual union here, and. finally enter the glories of his pres- 
ence at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 4 

Verse 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon 
thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and 
to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteous- 
ness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most 
Holy. 

Such are the first words the angel utters to Daniel, toward 
imparting to him that instruction which he came to give. Why 
does he thus abruptly introduce a period of time \ We must 
again refer to the vision of chapter 8. We have seen that 
Daniel, at the close of that .chapter, says that he did not 
understand the vision. Some portions of that vision were at 
the time very clearly explained. It could not have been these 
portions which he did not understand. We therefore inquire 
what it was which Daniel did not understand, or, in other 
words, what part of the vision was there left unexplained. 
In that vision four prominent things are brought to view : 
(1) The Earn; (2) The He-goat; (3) The Little Horn; (4) The 
period of the 2300 days. The symbols of the ram, the he-goat, 
and the little horn were explained. Kothing, however, was 
said respecting the time. This must therefore have been the 
point which he did not understand; and as without this the 
other portions of the vision were of no avail, he could well 
say, while the application of this period was left in obscurity, 
that he did not understand the vision. 

If this view of the subject is correct, we should naturally 
expect, when the angel completed his explanation of the vision, 
that he would commence with the very point which had been 
omitted ; namely, the time. And this we find to be true in 
fact. After citing Daniel's attention back to the former vision 
in the most direct and emphatic manner, and assuring him 
that he had now come forth to give him understanding in the 
matter, he commences upon the very point there omitted, and 
says, ' ' Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and 
upon thy holy city." 



192 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



But how does this language show any connection with 
the 2300 days, or throw any light upon that period? We 
answer : The language cannot be intelligibly referred to any- 
thing else; for the word here rendered determined signifies 
"cut off;" and there is no period from which the seventy 
weeks could be cut off but the 2300 days of the previous vision. 
How direct and natural, then, is the connection. Daniel's 
attention is fixed upon the 2300 days, which he did not under- 
stand, by the angel's directing him to the former vision; and 
he says, " Seventy weeks are cut off." Cut off from what ? — 
The 2300 days, most assuredly. 

Proof may be called for that the word rendered determined 
signifies to cut off. An abundance can be given. The Hebrew 
word thus translated is nehhtak. This word Gesenius, in 

his Hebrew Lexicon, defines as follows: u Properly, to cut 
off; tropically, to divide; and so to determine, to decree." In 
the Chaldeo-Kabbinic Dictionary of Stockius, the word nehhtak 
is thus defined : ' ' Scidit, abscidit, conscidit, inscidit, exscidit — 
to cut, to cut away, to cut in pieces, to cut or engrave, to cut 
off.''' Mercerus, in his Thesaurus, furnishes a specimen of 
Rabbinical usage in the phrase, hhatihah shel basar, u a piece 
of flesh," or, 44 a cut of flesh." He translates the word, as it 
occurs in Dan. 9:24, by "prsecisa est," is cut off. In the 
literal version of Arias Montanus it is translated " decisa est," 
is cut off; in the marginal reading, which is grammatically 
correct, it is rendered by the plural, " decisse sunt," are cut 
off. In the Latin version of Junius and Tremellius, nehhtak 
(the passive of hhathak) is rendered " decisse sunt," are cut off. 
Again, in Theodotion's Greek version of Daniel (which is the 
version used in the Vatican copy of the Septuagint, as being 
the most faithful), it is rendered by oweTiirj-drjoav (simetmethesan), 
were cut off; and in the Venetian copy by rer^vrai (tetmentai), 
have been cut." The idea of cutting off is preserved in the 
Yulgate, where the phrase is " abbreviate sunt," are shortened. 

' ' Thus Chaldaic and Rabbinical authority, and that of the 
earliest versions, the Septuagint and Vulgate, give the single 
signification of cutting off, to this verb." 



CHAPTER 9, TERSE 24. 



193 



< ' Hengstenberg, who enters into a critical examination of 
the original text, says : ' But the very use of the word, which 
does not elsewhere occur, while others much more frequently 
used, were at hand if Daniel had wished to express the idea of 
determination, and of which he has elsewhere, and even in this 
portion availed himself, seems to argue that the word stands 
from regard to its original meaning, and represents the seventy 
weeks in contrast with a determination of time ( en platei ) as a 
period cut off from subsequent duration, and accurately lim- 
ited.'" — Christology of the Old Testament, Vol. II, p. 301. 
Washington, 1839. 

Why, then, it may be asked, did our translators render the 
word determined, when it so obviously means cut off? The 
answer is, They doubtless overlooked the connection between 
the eighth and ninth chapters, and considering it improper to 
render it cut off, when nothing was given from which the 
seventy weeks could be cut off, they gave the word its tropical 
instead of its literal meaning. But, as we have seen, the con- 
struction, the context, and the connection require the literal 
meaning, and render any other inadmissible. 

Seventy weeks, then, or 490 days of the 2300, were cut off 
upon, or allotted to, Jerusalem and the Jews; and the events 
which were to be consummated within that period are briefly 
stated. The transgression was to be finished; that is, the 
Jewish people were to fill up the cup of their iniquity, which 
they did in the rejection and crucifixion of Christ. An end of 
sins, or of sin-offerings, was to be made. This took place when 
the great offering was made on Calvary. Reconciliation for 
iniquity was to be provided. This was made by the sacrificial 
death of the Son of God. Everlasting righteousness was to be 
brought in; the righteousness which our Lord manifested in 
his sinless life. The vision and the prophecy were to be sealed 
up, or made sure. By the events given to transpire in the 
seventy weeks, the prophecy is tested. By this the application 
of the whole vision is determined. If the events of this period 
are accurately fulfilled, the prophecy is of God, and will all be 
accomplished ; and if these seventy weeks are fulfilled as weeks 
13 



194 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



of years, then the 2300 days, of which these are a part, are so 
many years. Thus the events of the seventy weeks furnish a 
key to the whole vision. And the "most holy" was to be 
anointed; the most holy of the heavenly sanctuary. In the 
examination of the sanctuary, on chapter 8 : 14, we saw that 
a time came when the earthly sanctuary gave place to the 
heavenly, and the priestly ministration was transferred to that. 
Before the ministration in the sanctuary commenced, the sanc- 
tuary and all the holy vessels were to be anointed. Ex. 40 : 9, 
10. The last event, therefore, of the seventy weeks, here 
brought to view, is the anointing of the heavenly tabernacle, 
or the opening of the ministration there. Thus this first 
division of the 2300 days brings us to the commencement 
of the service in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, 
as the whole period brings us to the commencement of the 
service in the second apartment, or most holy place, of that 
sanctuary. 

The argument must now be considered conclusive that the 
ninth chapter of Daniel explains the eighth, and that the 
seventy weeks are a part of the 2300 days; and with a few 
extracts from the writings of others we will leave this point. 

The Advent /Shield in 1844 said: — 

' ' We call attention to one fact which shows that there is a 
necessary ' connection ' between the seventy weeks of the ninth 
chapter, and something else which precedes or follows it, called 
' the vision.' It is found in the 24th verse: 6 Seventy weeks 
are determined [ are cut off ] upon thy people, ... to seal up 
the vision,' etc. Now there are but two significations to the 
phrase 'seal up. 5 They are, first, 'to make secret,' and sec- 
ond, ' to make sure. ' We care not now in which of these sig- 
nifications the phrase is supposed to be used. That is not the 
point now before us. Let the signification be what it may, it 
shows that the prediction of the seventy weeks necessarily re- 
lates to something else beyond itself, called 4 the vision, ' in 
reference to which it performs this work, ' to seal up. ' To talk 
of its sealing up itself is as much of an absurdity as to suppose 
that Josephus was so much afraid of the Romans that he re- 



CHAPTER 9, VERSE 24. 



195 



framed from telling the world that he thought the fourth king- 
dom of Daniel was 'the kingdom of the Greeks.' It is no 
more proper to say that the ninth chapter of Daniel ' is com- 
plete in itself, ' than it would be to say that a map which was 
designed to show the relation of Massachusetts to the United 
States, referred to nothing but Massachusetts. It is no more 
complete, in itself than a bond given in security for a note, or 
some other document to which it refers, is complete in itself ; 
and we doubt if there is a schoolboy of fourteen years in the 
land, of ordinary capacity, who would not, on reading the 
ninth chapter, with an understanding of the clause before us, 
decide that it referred to something distinct from itself, called 
the vision. What vision it is, there is no difficulty in deter- 
mining. It naturally and obviously refers to the vision which 
was not fully explained to Daniel, and to which Gabriel calls 
his attention in the preceding verse, — the vision of the 8th 
chapter. Daniel tells us that Gabriel was commanded to make 
him understand that vision ( 8 : 16 ). This was not fully done 
at that interview connected with the vision; he is therefore sent 
to give Daniel the needed 'skill and understanding,' — to ex- 
plain its ' meaning ' by communicating to him the prediction of 
the seventy weeks." 

' ' We claim that the ninth of Daniel is an appendix to the 
eighth, and that the seventy weeks and the 2300 days, or years, 
commence together. Our opponents deny this." — Signs of 
the Times, 181$. 

' ' The grand principle involved in the interpretation of the 
2300 days of Dan. 8 : 14, is that the seventy weeks of Dan. 
9 : 24 are the first 490 days of the 2300 of the eighth chapter." 
— Advent Shield, p. Jfl. 

6 ' If the connection between the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 
and the 2300 days of Daniel 8 does not exist, the whole system 
is shaken to its foundation; if it does exist, as we suppose, the 
system must stand." — Harmony of the Prophetic Chronology, 
p. 33. 

Says the learned Dr. Hales, in commenting upon the 
seventy weeks, "This chronological prophecy was evidently 



196 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



designed to explain the foregoing vision, especially in its chro- 
nological part of the 2300 days.' 1 — Chronology, Vol. II, j>. 517. 

Verse 25. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth 
of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah 
the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks : the 
street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26. 
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for 
himself : and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the 
city and the sanctuary ; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, 
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27. And he 
shall confirm the covenant with many for one week : and in the midst of 
the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for 
the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until 
the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the 
desolate. 

The angel now gives to Daniel the event which is to mark 
the commencement of the seventy weeks. They were to date 
' from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build 
Jerusalem. And not only is the event given which was to de- 
termine the time of the commencement of this period, but those 
events also which were to transpire at its close. Thus a double 
test is provided by which to try the application of this prophecy. 
But more than this, the period of seventy weeks is divided 
into three grand divisions, and one of these is again divided, 
and the intermediate events are given which were to mark the 
termination of each one of these divisions. If, now, we can find 
a date which will harmonize with all these events, we have, be- 
yond a doubt, the true application ; for none but that which is 
correct could meet and fulfil so many conditions. Let the 
reader take in at one view the points of harmony to be made, 
that he may be the better prepared to guard against a false 
application. First, we are to find, at the commencement of 
the period, a commandment going forth to restore and build 
Jerusalem. To this work of restoration seven weeks are 
allotted. As we reach the end of this first division, seven 
weeks from the commencement, we are to find, secondly, Jeru- 
salem, in its material aspect, restored, the work of building 
the street and the wall fully accomplished. From this point 
sixty-two weeks are measured off ; and as we reach the termina- 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 197 

tion of this division, sixty-nine weeks from the beginning, we 
are to see, thirdly, the manifestation before the world of the 
Messiah the Prince. One week more is given us, completing 
the seventy. Fourthly, in the midst of this week the Messiah 
is to be cut off, and to cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease; 
and, fifthly, when the last week of that period which was 
allotted to the Jews as the time during which they were to be 
the special people of God expires, we naturally look for the 
going forth of the blessing and work of God to other people. 

We now inquire for the initial date which will harmonize 
with all these particulars. The command respecting Jerusalem 
was to include more than mere building. There was to be 
restoration; and by this we must understand all the forms and 
regulations of civil, political, and judicial society. "When did 
such a command go forth? At the time these words were 
spoken to Daniel, Jerusalem lay in complete and utter desola- 
tion, and had thus been lying for seventy years. The restora- 
tion, pointed to in the future, must be its restoration from this 
desolation. We then inquire, When and how was Jerusalem 
restored after the seventy years' captivity % 

There are but four events which can be taken as answering 
to the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. These 
are, (1) The decree of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the house of 
God, b. c. 536 (Ezra 1 : 1-4); (2) The decree of Darius for the 
prosecution of that work, which had been hindered, b. c. 519 
(Ezra 6 : 1-12); (3) The decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra, b. c. 457 
(Ezra 7); and (4) The commission to Nehemiah from the same 
king in his twentieth year, b. c. 444. Nehemiah 2. 

Dating from the first two of these decrees, the seventy 
weeks, being weeks of years, 1 490 years in all, would fall 



i The explanation of these prophetic periods is based on what is called the 
■"year-day principle; " that is, making each day stand for a year, according to 
the Scriptural rule for the application of symbolic time. Eze. 4:6; Num. 14:34. 
That the time in these visions of Daniel 8 and 9 is symbolic is evident from the 
nature and scope of the prophecy. The question calling out the answers on this 
point was, ''How long the vision ? " The vision, reckoning from 538 b. c. to our own 
time, sweeps over a period more than 2400 years in length. But if the 2300 days of 
the vision are literal days, we have a period of only a little over six years and a 
half for the duration of the kingdoms and the transaction of the great events 
brought to view, which is absurd ! The year-day principle numbers among its sup- 



198 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



many years short of reaching even to the Christian era; besides, 
these decrees had reference principally to the restoration of 
the temple and the temple-worship of the Jews, and not to 
the restoration of their civil state and polity, all of which 
must be included in the expression, ' 4 To restore and to build 
Jerusalem. " 

These made a commencement of the work. They were 
preliminary to what was afterward accomplished. But of 
themselves they were altogether insufficient, both in their dates 
and in their nature, to meet the requirements of the prophecy; 
and thus failing in every respect, they cannot be brought into 
the controversy as marking the point from which the seventy 
weeks are to date. The only question now lies .between the 
decrees which were granted to Ezra and to Nehemiah re- 
spectively. 

The facts between which we are to decide here are briefly 
these: In 457 b. c, a decree was granted to Ezra by the 
Persian emperor Artaxerxes Longimanus to go up to Jerusalem 
with as many of his people as were minded to go with him. 
The commission granted him an unlimited amount of treasure, 
to beautify the house of God, to procure offerings for its 
service, and to do whatever else might seem good unto him. 
It empowered him to ordain laws, set magistrates and judges, 
and execute punishment even unto death; in other words, to 
restore the Jewish state, civil and ecclesiastical, according to 
the law of God and the ancient customs of that people. 
Inspiration has seen fit to preserve this decree; and a full and 
accurate copy of it is given in the seventh chapter of the book 
of Ezra. In the original, this decree is given, not in Hebrew, 
like the rest of the book of Ezra, but in the Chaldaic for 
Eastern Aramaic), the language then used at Babylon; and 



porters such names as Augustine, Tichonius, Primasius, Andreas, the venerable 
Bede, Ambrosius, Ansbertus, Berengaud, and Bruno Astensis, besides the leading 
modern expositors. (See Elliott's Horse Apocalyptic®, Vol. Ill, p. 241; and The 
Sanctuary and its Cleansing, pp. 45-52.) But what is more conclusive than all else 
is the fact that the prophecies have actually been fulfilled on this principle, — a 
demonstration of its correctness from which there is no appeal. This will be found 
in the prophecy of the seventy weeks throughout, and all the prophetic periods of 
Daniel 7 and 12, and Revelation 9, 12, and 13. 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 



199 



thus we are furnished with the original document by virtue of 
which Ezra was authorized to restore and build Jerusalem. 

Thirteen years after this, in the twentieth year of the same 
king, b. c. 444, Nehemiah sought and obtained permission to 
go up to Jerusalem. Eehemiah 2. Permission was granted 
him, but we have no evidence that it was anything more than 
verbal. It pertained to him individually, nothing being said 
about others going up with him. The king asked him how 
long a journey he wished to make, and when he would return. 
He received letters to the governors beyond the river, to help 
him on his way to Judea, and an order to the keeper of the 
king's forest for timber for beams, etc. When he arrived at 
Jerusalem, he found rulers and priests, nobles and people, 
already engaged in the work of building Jerusalem. Neh. 
2 : 16. These were, of course, acting under the decree given 
to Ezra thirteen years before. And finally, Nehemiah, having 
arrived at Jerusalem, finished the work he came to accomplish, 
in fifty-two days. Neh. 6 : 15. 

Now which of these commissions, Ezra's or Nehemiah's, 
constitutes the decree for the restoration of Jerusalem, from 
which the seventy weeks are to be dated ? It hardly seems 
that there can be any question on this point. 

1. The grant to Nehemiah cannot be called a decree. It 
was necessary that a Persian decree should be put in writing, 
and signed by the king. Dan. 6:8. Such was the document 
given to Ezra; but Nehemiah had nothing of the kind, his 
commission being only verbal. If it be said that the letters 
given him constituted the decree, then the decree was issued, 
not to Nehemiah, but to the governors beyond the river; be- 
sides, these would constitute a series of decrees, and not one 
decree, as the prophecy contemplates. 

2. The occasion of Nehemiah's petition to the king for 
permission to go up to Jerusalem was the report which certain 
ones, returning, had brought from thence, that those in the 
province were in great affliction and reproach, also that the 
wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and the gates thereof 
burned with fire. Eehemiah 1. Whose work were these walls 



200 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



and gates that were broken down and burned with fire ? — 
Evidently the work of Ezra and his associates; for it cannot 
for a moment be supposed that the utter destruction of the city 
by Nebuchadnezzar, one hundred and forty-four years previous 
to that time, would have been reported to Nehemiah as a 
matter of news, nor that he would have considered it, as he 
evidently did, a fresh misfortune, calling for a fresh expression 
of grief. A decree, therefore, authorizing the building of 
these, had gone forth previous to the grant to JSTehemiah; and 
the attempt that had been made to execute the work, had 
fallen into embarrassment, which Nehemiah wished to relieve. 

3. If any should contend that JNehemiah's commission must 
be a decree, because the object of his request was that he might 
baild the city, it is sufficient to reply, as shown above, that 
gates and walls had been built previous to his going up; be- 
sides, the work of building which he went to perform was 
accomplished in fifty-two days; whereas, the prophecy allows 
for the building of the city, seven weeks, or forty-nine years. 

4. There was nothing granted to Nehemiah which was not 
embraced in the decree to Ezra; while the latter had all the 
forms and conditions of a decree, and was vastly more ample 
in its provisions. 

5. It is evident from the prayer of Ezra, as recorded in 
chapter 9 : 9 of his book, that he considered himself fully em- 
powered to proceed with the building of the city and the wall ; 
and it is evident that he understood, further, that the con- 
ditional prophecies concerning his people were then fulfilled, 
from the closing words of that prayer, in which he says, 
" Should we again break thy commandments, and join in 
affinity with the people of these abominations ? wouldst not 
thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that 
there should be no remnant nor escaping?" 

6. Reckoning from the commission to Nehemiah, b. c. 444, 
the dates throughout are entirely disarranged; for from that 
point the troublesome times which were to attend the building 
of the street and wall, did not last seven weeks, or forty-nine 
years. Reckoning from that date, the sixty-nine weeks, or 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 



201 



483 years, which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince, 
bring ns to a. d. 40; but Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan, 
and the voice of the Father was heard from heaven declaring 
him his Son, in a. d. 27, thirteen years before. According, to 
this calculation, the midst of the last or seventieth week, which 
is marked by the crucifixion, is placed in a. d. 44, but the cru- 
cifixion took place in a. d. 31, thirteen years previous. And 
lastly, the seventy weeks, or 490 years, dating from the twen- 
tieth of Artaxerxes, extend to a. d. 47, with absolutely nothing 
to mark their termination. Hence if that be the year, and the 
grant to Xehemiah the event, from which to reckon, the proph- 
ecy has proved a failure. As it is, it only proves that theory 
a failure which dates the seventy weeks from Nehemiah's com- 
misson in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. 

7. Will these dates harmonize if we reckon from the decree 
to Ezra ? Let us see. In this case, 457 b. c. is our starting- 
point. Forty-nine years were allotted to the building of the 
city and the wall. On this point, Prideaux (Connexion, Yol. 
I, p. 322) says: "In the fifteenth year of Darius Nothus 
ended the first seven weeks of Daniel's prophecy. For then 
the restoration of the church and state of the Jews in Jerusa- 
lem and Judea was fully finished, in that last act of reformation 
which is recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Nehemiah, from 
the twenty-third verse to the end of the chapter, just forty -nine 
years after it had been commenced by Ezra in the seventh year 
of Artaxerxes Longimanus." This was b. c. 408. 

So far we find harmony. Let us apply the measuring-rod 
of the prophecy still further. Sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, 
were to extend to Messiah the Prince. Dating from b. c. 457, 
they end in a. d. 27. And what event then occurred ? Luke 
thus informs us : "Now when all the people were baptized, it 
came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the 
heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily 
shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, 
which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well 
pleased." Luke 3:21, 22; margin, a. d. 27. After this, 
Jesus came "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and 



202 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



saying, The time is fulfilled.*' Mark 1 : 14, 15. The time here 
mentioned must have been some specific, definite, and pre- 
dicted period; but no prophetic period can be found then termi- 
nating, except the sixty-nine weeks of the prophecy of Daniel, 
which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince. The Mes- 
siah had now come; and with his own lips he announced the 
termination of that period which was to be marked by his 
manifestation. 1 

Here, again, is indisputable harmony. But further, the 
Messiah was to confirm the covenant with many for one week. 
This would be the last week of the seventy, or the last seven 
years of the 490. In the midst of the week, the prophecy 

i Luke declares that Jesus "began to be about thirty years of age " at the time 
of his baptism (Luke 3: 23) ; and almost immediately after this he entered upon his 
ministry. How, then, could his ministry commence in A. d. 27, and he still be of the 
age named by Luke ? The answer to this question is found in the fact that Christ 
was born between three and four years before the beginning of the Christian era, 
"that is, before the year marked A. d. 1. The mistake of dating the Christian era 
something over three years this side of the birth of Christ, instead of dating it from 
the year of his birth, as it was designed to be, arose on this wise: One of the most 
important of ancient eras was reckoned from the building of the city of Rome 
— ab urbe condita, expressed by the abbreviation A. u. C, or more briefly, u. C. In the 
year which is now numbered a. d. 532, Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian by birth, and 
a Roman abbot, who flourished in the reign of Justinian, invented the Christian 
era. According to the best evidence at his command, he placed the birth of Christ 
u. C. 753. But Christ was born before the death of Herod; and it was afterward 
ascertained on the clearest evidence that the death of Herod occurred in April, 
u. c. 750. Allowing a few months for the events recorded in Christ's life before the 
time of Herod's death, his birth is carried back to the latter part of u. C. 749, a little 
over three years before A. d. 1. Christ was therefore thirty years of age in A. d. 27. 
" The vulgar [common] era began to prevail in the West about the time of Charles 
Martel and Pope Gregory II, a. d. 730; but was not sanctioned by any public Acts 
or Rescripts till the first German Synod, in the time of Carolomannus, Duke of the 
Franks, which, in the preface, was said to be assembled 'Anno ab incarnatione Dom. 
742, 11 Calendas Maii.' But it was not established till the time of Pope Eugenius IV, 
a. d. 1431, who ordered this era to be used in the public Registers: according to 
Mariana and others."— Sales' Chronology, Vol. I, pp. 83,84. (See also Life of Our 
Lord, by S. J. Andrews.) 

The Christian era had become so well established before the mistake above 
referred to was discovered, that no change in the reckoning has been attempted. 
It makes no material difference, as it does not interfere at all with the calculation 
of dates. If the era commenced with the actual year of Christ's birth, the number 
of years B. c. in any case would be four years less, and the years A. d. four years 
more. To illustrate: If we have a period of twenty years, one half before and the 
other half since the Christian era, we say that it commenced B. c. 10 and ended 
a. d. 10. But if we place the era back to the real point of Christ's birth, there would 
be no change of either terminus of the period, but we should then say that it com- 
menced b. c. 6 and ended A. d. 14; that is, four years would be taken from the fig- 
ures b. c. and added to those of A. r>. Some have so far misapprehended this subject 
as to claim that the current year should have four years added to it, to denote the 
real year of the Christian era. This would be true, if the reckoning began from the 
actual date of Christ's birth. But this is not the case; the starting-point is between 
three and four years later. 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27 



informs us, he should cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. 
These Jewish ordinances, pointing to the death of Christ, could 
cease only at the cross; and there they did virtually come to 
an end, though the outward observance was kept up till the 
destruction of Jerusalem, a. d. TO. After threescore and two 
weeks, according to the record, the Messiah was to be cut off. 
It is the same as if it had read : And after threescore and two 
weeks, in the midst of the seventieth week, shall Messiah be 
cut off* and cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Now, 
as the word midst here means middle, according to an abun- 
dance of authority which we might produce if necessary, the 
crucifixion is definitely located in the middle of the seventieth 
week. 

It now becomes an important point to determine in what 
year the crucifixion took place. The following evidence is 
sufficient to be considered absolutely decisive on this question. 

It is not to be questioned that our Saviour attended every 
Passover that occurred during his public ministry; and we 
have mention of only four such occasions previous to his cruci- 
fixion. These are found in the following passages : John 2 : 13; 
5 : 1; 6 : 4; 13 : 1. At the last-mentioned Passover he was 
crucified. From facts already established, let us then see 
where this would locate the crucifixion. As he began his min- 
istry in the autumn of a. d. 27, his first Passover would occur 
the following spring, a. d. 28; his second, a. d. 29; his third, 
a. d. 30; and his fourth and last, a. d. 31. This gives us 
three years and a half for his public ministry, and corresponds 
exactly to the prophecy that he should be cut off in the midst, 
or middle, of the seventieth week. As that week of years 
commenced in the autumn of a. d. 27, the middle of the week 
would occur three and one-half years later, in the spring of 31, 
where the crucifixion took place. Dr. Hales quotes Eusebius, 
a. d. 300, as saying : 44 It is recorded in history that the whole 
time of our Saviour's teaching and working miracles was three 
years and a half, which is the half of a week [of years]. This, 
John the evangelist will represent to those who critically attend 
to his Gospel. " 



201 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Of the unnatural darkness which occurred at the crucifixion, 
Hales, Yol. I, pp. 69, 70, thus speaks: " Hence it appears that 
the darkness which ' overspread the whole land of Judea 5 at 
the time of our Lord's crucifixion was preternatural, 'from the 
sixth until the ninth hour, ' or from noon till three in the after- 
noon, in its duration, and also in its time, about full moon, 
when the moon could not possibly eclipse the sun. The time 
it happened, and the fact itself, are recorded in a curious and 
valuable passage of a respectable Roman Consul, Aurelius 
Cassiodorius Senator, about a. d. 514 : ' In the consulate of 
Tiberius Caesar Aug. Y and ^Elius Sejanus (u. c. 784, a. d. 
31), our Lord Jesus Christ suffered, on the 8th of the calends 
of April (25th of March), when there happened such an eclipse 
of the sun as was never before nor since. 

' < In this year, and in this day, agree also the Council of 
Cesarea, a. d. 196 or 198, the Alexandrian Chronicle, Maxi- 
mus Monachus, Nicephorus Constantinus, Cedrenus; and in 
this year, but on different days, concur Eusebius and Epipha- 
nius, followed by Kepler, Bucher, Patinus, and Petavius, some 
reckoning it the 10th of the calends of April, others the 13th.' 1 
(See on chapter 11 : 22.) 

Here, then, are thirteen credible authorities locating the 
crucifixion of Christ in the spring of a. d. 31. We may there- 
fore set this down as a fixed date, as the most cautious or the 
most skeptical could require nothing more conclusive. This 
being in the middle of the last week, we have simply to reckon 
backward three and a half years to find where sixty-nine of 
the weeks ended, and forward from that point three and a half 
years to find the termination of the whole seventy. Thus going 
back from the crucifixion, a. d. 31, spring, three and a half 
years, we find ourselves in the autumn of a. d. 27, where, as 
we have seen, the sixty-nine weeks ended, and Christ com- 
menced his public ministry. And going from the crucifixion 
forward three and a half years, we are brought to the autumn 
of a. d. 34, as the grand terminating point of the whole 
period of the seventy weeks. This date is marked by the 
martyrdom of Stephen, the formal rejection of the gospel of 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 205 

Christ by the Jewish Sanhedrin in the persecution of his 
disciples, and the turning of the apostles to the Gentiles. 
Acts 9 : 1-18. And these are just the events which one would 
expect to take place when that specified period which was 
cut off for the Jews, and allotted to them as a peculiar people, 
should fully expire. 

A word respecting the date of the seventh of Artaxerxes, 
when the decree for restoring Jerusalem was given to Ezra, 
and the array of evidence on this point is complete. Was the 
seventh of Artaxerxes b. c. 457? For all those who can ap- 
preciate the force of facts, the following testimony will be 
sufficient here : — 

£ ' The Bible gives the data for a complete system of chro- 
nology, extending from the creation to the birth of Cyrus — 
a clearly ascertained date. From this period downward we 
have the undisputed canon of Ptolemy, and the undoubted era 
of Nabonassar, extending below our vulgar era. At the point 
where inspired chronology leaves us, this canon of undoubted 
accuracy commences. And thus the whole arch is spanned. 
It is by the canon of Ptolemy that the great prophetical period 
of seventy weeks is fixed. This canon places the seventh year 
of Artaxerxes in the year b. c. 457; and the accuracy of this 
canon is demonstrated by the concurrent agreement of more 
than twenty eclipses. This date we cannot change from b. c. 
457, without first demonstrating the inaccuracy of Ptolemy's 
canon. To do this it would be necessary to show that the 
large number of eclipses by which its accuracy has been re- 
peatedly demonstrated have not been correctly computed; and 
such a result would unsettle every chronological date, and 
leave the settlement of epochs and the adjustment of eras 
entirely at the mercy of every dreamer, so that chronology 
would be of no more value than mere guesswork. As the 
seventy weeks must terminate in a. d. 34 unless the seventh of 
Artaxerxes is wrongly fixed, and as that cannot be changed 
without some evidence to that effect, we inquire, What evidence 
marked that termination ? The time when the apostles turned 
to the Gentiles harmonizes with that date better than any 



206 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



other* which has been named. And the crucifixion in a. d. 31, 
in the midst of the last week, is sustained by a mass of testi- 
mony which cannot be easily invalidated." — Advent Herald. 

From the facts above set forth, we see that, reckoning the 
seventy weeks from the decree given to Ezra in the seventh 
of Artaxerxes, b. c. 457, there is the most perfect harmony 
throughout. The important and definite events of the mani- 
festation of the Messiah at his baptism, the commencement of 
his public ministry, the crucifixion, and the turning away from 
the Jews to the Gentiles, with the proclamation of the new 
covenant, all come in in their exact place, and like a bright 
galaxy of blazing orbs of light, cluster round to set their seal 
to the prophecy, and make it sure. 

It is thus evident that the decree to Ezra in the seventh of 
Artaxerxes, b. c. 457, is the point from which to date the 
- seventy weeks. That was the going forth of the decree in the 
sense of the prophecy. The two previous decrees were prepar- 
atory and preliminary to this ; and indeed they are regarded 
by Ezra as parts of it, the three being taken as one great whole. 
For in Ezra 6 : 14, we read : "And they builded, and finished 
it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and 
according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and 
Artaxerxes, king of Persia." It will be noticed that the de- 
crees of these three kings are spoken of as one, — "the com- 
mandment 1 ' [margin, ' < decree, ' ' singular number] of Cyrus and 
Darius and Artaxerxes, ' ' showing that they are all reckoned as 
a unit, the different decrees being but the successive steps by 
which the work was accomplished. And this decree could not 
be said to have "gone forth," as intended by the prophecy, 
till the last permission which the prophecy required was em- 
bodied in the decree, and clothed with the authority of the 
empire. This point was reached in the grant given to Ezra, 
but not before. Here the decree assumed the proportions, and 
covered the ground, demanded by the prophecy, and from this 
point its " going forth " must be dated. 

With the seventy weeks we are now done ; but there 
remain a longer period and other important events to be con- 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 



207 



sidered. The seventy weeks are but the first 490 years of 
the 2300. Take 490 from 2300, and there remain 1810. The 
490, as we have seen, ended in the autumn of a. d. 34. If 
to this date we now add the remaining 1810 years, we shall 
have the termination of the whole period. Thus, to a. d. 
34, autumn, add 1810, and we have the autumn of a. d. 
1844. Thus speedily and surely do we find the termination 
of the 2300 days, when once the seventy weeks have been 
located. • 

One other point should here be noticed. We have seen 
that the seventy weeks are the first 490 days of the 2300; 
that these days are prophetic, signifying literal years, accord- 
ing to the Bible rule, a day for a year (Num. 14:34; Eze. 
4 : 6), as is proved by the fulfilment of the seventy weeks, and 
as ail reliable expositors agree; that they commenced in 457 
b. c. and ended in a. d. 1844, provided the number is right, 
and twenty-three hundred is the correct reading. With this 
point established, there would seem to be no room for further 
controversy. On this point Dr. Hales remarks : — 

"There is no number in the Bible whose genuineness is 
better ascertained than that of the 2300 days. It is found in 
all the printed Hebrew editions, in all the MSS. of Kennicott 
and De HossVs collations, and in all the ancient versions, ex- 
cept the Vatican copy of the Septuagint, which reads 2400, 
followed by Symmachus; and some copies noticed by Jerom, 
2200, both evidently literal errors in excess and defect, which 
compensate each other and confirm the mean, 2300." — Chro- 
nology, Vol. II, p. 512. 

The query may here arise how the days can be extended to 
the autumn of 1844 if they commence 457 b. c, as it requires 
only 1843 years, in addition to the 457, to make the whole 
number of 2300. Attention to one fact will clear this point 
of all difficulty; and that is, that it takes 457 full years before 
Christ, and 1843 full years after, to make 2300; so that if the 
period commenced with the very first day of 457, it would not 
terminate till the very last day of 1843. Now it will be 
evident to all that if any portion of the year 457 had passed 



208 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL 



away before the 2300 days commenced, just so much of the 
year 1844 must pass away before they would end. We there- 
fore inquire, At what point in the year 457 are we to com- 
mence to reckon ? From the fact that the first forty-nine 
years were allotted to the building of the street and wall, we 
learn that the period is to be dated, not from the starting of 
Ezra from Babylon, but from the actual commencement of the 
work at Jerusalem; which it is not probable could be earlier 
than the seventh month (autumn) of 457, as he did not arrive 
at Jerusalem till the fifth month of that year. Ezra 7:9. The 
whole period would therefore extend to the seventh month, 
autumn, Jewish time, of 1844. 

Those who oppose this view of the prophetic periods, have 
been wont in years past to meet us with this objection : " The 
2300 days have not ended, because the time has passed, and 
the Lord has not come. Why the time passed in 1844 without 
the consummation of our hopes, we acknowledge to be a mys- 
tery; but the passing of the time is proof that the 2300 days 
have not ended." 

Time, however, is no respecter of persons nor of theories; 
and with the formidable scythe which he is represented as car- 
rying, he sometimes demolishes in the most summary manner 
the grotesque and gossamer theories of men, however dear 
they may be to their authors and defenders. It is so here. 
Heedless of the wild contortions of those who would fain 
compel him to stop and fulfil their darling predictions, he has 
kept on the swift but even tenor of his way until — what ? 
every limit is passed to which the 2300 days can be extended; 
and thus he has demonstrated that those days have passed. Let 
not this point be overlooked. Setting aside for a moment the 
arguments by which they are shown to have ended in 1844, and 
letting them date from any point where the least shadow of 
reason can be imagined for placing them, or from which the 
wildest dreamer could date them, it is still true that the utmost 
limit to which they could extend has gone by. They cannot 
possibly be dated at any point which would bring their termi- 
nation so late as the present time. We therefore say again, 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 



209 



with not a misgiving as to the truth of the assertion, nor a fear 
of its successful contradiction, Those clays have ended ! 

The momentous declaration made by the angel to Daniel, 
' ' Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the 
sanctuary be cleansed,*' is now explained. In our search for 
the meaning of the sanctuary and its cleansing, and the appli- 
cation of the time, we have found not only that this subject can 
be easily understood ; but lo ! the event is even now in process 
of accomplishment, and is almost finished. And here we pause 
a brief moment to reflect upon the solemn position into which 
we are brought. 

We have seen that the sanctuary of this dispensation is the 
tabernacle of God in heaven, the house not made with hands, 
where our Lord ministers in behalf of penitent sinners, the 
place where between the great God and his Son Jesus Christ 
the ' 4 counsel of peace ' ' prevails in the work of salvation for 
perishing men. Zech. 6 : 13; Ps. 85 : 10. We have seen that 
the cleansing of the sanctuary consists in the removing of the 
sins from the same, and is the closing act of the ministration 
performed therein; that the work of salvation now centers in 
the heavenly sanctuary; and when the sanctuary is cleansed, 
the work is done, and the plan is finished. Then the great 
scheme devised at the fall for the salvation of as many of the 
lost race as would avail themselves of its provisions, and carried 
forward for six thousand years, is brought to its final termi- 
nation. Mercy no longer pleads, and the great voice is heard 
from the throne in the temple in heaven, saying, ''It is done." 
Rev. 16:17. And what then? — All the righteous are safe 
for everlasting life; all the wicked are doomed to everlasting 
death. No decision can be changed, no reward can be 
lost, and no destiny of despair can be averted, beyond that 
point. 

And we have seen (and this is what brings the solemnities 
of the Judgment to our own door) that that long prophetic 
period which was to mark the commencement of this final work 
in the heavenly sanctuary, has met its termination in our own 
generation. In 1844 the days ended. And since that time 
14 



210 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



the final work for man's salvation has been going forward. 
This work involves an examination of every man's character; 
for it consists in the remission of the sins of those who shall 
be found worthy to have them remitted, and determines who 
among the dead shall be raised, and who among the living 
shall be changed, at the coming of the Lord, and who, of both 
dead and living, shall be left to have their part in the fearful 
scenes of the second death. And all can see that such a deci- 
sion as this must be rendered before the Lord appears. Every 
man's destiny is to be determined by the deeds done in the body, 
and each one is to be rewarded according to his works. 2 Cor. 
5 : 10; Rev. 22 : 12. In the books of remembrance kept by 
the heavenly scribes above, every man's deeds will be found 
recorded (Rev. 20 : 12); and in the closing sanctuary work 
these records are examined, and decision is rendered in accord- 
ance therewith. Dan. 7:9, 10. It would be most natural to 
suppose that the work would commence with the first members 
of the human race ; that their cases would be first examined, 
and decision rendered, and so on with all the dead, generation 
by generation, in chronological succession along the stream of 
time, till we reach the last generation,- — the generation of the 
living with whose cases the work would close. How long it 
will take to examine the cases of all the dead, how soon the 
work will reach the cases of the living, no man can know. 
And as above remarked, since the year 1844, this solemn work 
has been going forward. The light of the types, and the very 
nature of the case, forbid that it should be of long continuance. 
John, in his sublime views of heavenly scenes, saw millions of 
attendants and assistants engaged with our Lord in his priestly 
work. Revelation 5. And so the ministration goes forward. 
It ceases not, it delays not, and it must soon be forever 
finished. 

And here we stand — the last, the greatest, and the most 
solemn crisis in the history of our race immediately impending; 
the great plan of salvation about finished ; the last precious 
years of probation almost ended; the Lord about to come to 
save those who are ready and waiting, and to cut asunder the 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 



211 



careless and unbelieving; and the world — alas ! what shall we 
say of them ! — deceived with error, crazed with cares and 
business, delirious with pleasure, and paralyzed with vice, they 
have not a moment to spare in listening to solemn truth, nor a 
thought to bestow upon their eternal interests. Let the people 
of God, with eternity right in view, be careful to escape the 
corruption that is in the world through lust, and prepare to 
pass the searching test, when their cases shall come up for 
examination at the great tribunal above. 

To the careful attention of every student of prophecy we 
commend the subject of the sanctuary. In the sanctuary is 
seen the ark of God's testament, containing his holy law; and 
this suggests a reform in our obedience to that great standard 
of morality. The opening of this heavenly temple, or the com- 
mencement of the service in its second apartment, marks the 
commencement of the sounding of the seventh angel. Eev. 
11 : 15, 19. The work performed therein is the foundation of 
the third message of Revelation 14, — the last message of mercy 
to a perishing world. This subject explains the great disap- 
pointment of the Adventists in 1844, by showing that they 
mistook the event to occur at the end of the 2300 days. It 
renders harmonious and clear past prophetic fulfilments, which 
are otherwise involved in impenetrable obscurity, It gives a 
definite idea of the position and work of our great High Priest, 
and brings out the plan of salvation in its distinctive and 
beautiful features. It reins us up, as no other subject does, to 
the realities of the Judgment, and shows the preparation we 
need to be able to stand in the coming day. It shows us that 
we are in the waiting time, and puts us upon our watch ; 
for we know not how soon the work will be finished, and 
our Lord appear. Watch, lest coming suddenly, he find you 
sleeping. 

After stating the great events connected with our Lord's 
mission here upon the earth, the prophet in the last part of 
verse 27 speaks of the soon-following destruction of Jerusalem 
by the Roman power ; and finally of the destruction of that 
power itself, called in the margin ' i the desolator. ' ' 



212 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Note. — That the expression "to anoint the most holy" refers, ac- 
cording to remarks on verse 24 of this chapter, to the anointing of the- 
heavenly sanctuary previous to the beginning of Christ's ministry therein, 
and not to any anointing of the Messiah himself, seems to be sus- 
ceptible of the clearest proof. The words translated "most holy" are 
D , i£np T EHp (kodesh kodaskim), the "holy of holies," an expression which, 
according to Gesenius, applies to the most holy place in the sanctuary, 
and which in no instance is applied to a person, unless this passage be an 
exception. 

The Advent Shield, No. 1, p. 75, says : "And the last event of the sev- 
enty weeks, as enumerated in verse 24, was the anointing of the ' most 
hoi} 7 ,' or ' the holy of holies,' or the ' sanctum sanctorum ; ' not that which 
was on earth, made with hands, but the true tabernacle, into which 
Christ, our High Priest, is for us entered. Christ was to do in the true 
tabernacle in heaven what Moses and Aaron did in its pattern. ( See He- 
brews, chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9 ; Ex. 30 : 22-30 ; Lev. 8 : 10-15.) " 

Dr. Barnes, in his notes on this passage, and particularly on the words 
"most holy," says : "The phrase properly means ' holy of holies,' or most 
holy ; it is applied often in the Scriptures to the inner sanctuary, or the 
. portion of the tabernacle and temple containing the ark of the covenant, 
the two tables of stone, etc." "It is not necessarily limited to the inner 
sanctuary of the temple, but may be applied to the whole house." 
"Others have supposed that this refers to the Messiah himself, and that 
the meaning is that he who was most holy would then be consecrated, or 
anointed, as the Messiah. It is probable, as Hengstenberg ( Christology, 
II, 321, 322) has shown, that the Greek translators thus understood it, 
but it is a sufficient objection to this that the phrase, though occurring 
many times in the Scriptures, is never applied to persons, unless this be 
an instance." "It seems to me, therefore, that the obvious and fair in- 
terpretation is, to refer it to the temple." 

An understanding of the subject of the heavenly sanctuary would 
have relieved this scripture of the perplexity in which, in the minds of 
some expositors, it seems to be involved. 



Verse 1. In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was re- 
vealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar ; and the thing 
^vvas true, but the time appointed was long : and he understood the thing, 
and had understanding of the vision. 

(gJp^HIS verse introduces us to the last of the recorded visions 
4|fe of the prophet Daniel, the instruction imparted to him 
at this time being continued through chapters 1 1 and 
12, to the close of the book. The third year of Cyrus was 
b. c. 534. Six years had consequently elapsed since Daniel's 
vision of the four beasts in the first year of Belshazzar, 
b. o. 540 ; four years since the vision of the ram, he-goat, 
little horn, and 2300 days of chapter 8, in the third year 
of Belshazzar, b. c. 538; and four years since the instruction 
given to Daniel respecting the seventy weeks, in the first 
year of Darius, b. c. 538, as recorded in chapter 9. On 
the overthrow of the kingdom of Babylon by the Medes 
and Persians, b. c. 538, Darius, through the courtesy of his 
nephew, Cyrus, was permitted to occupy the throne. This he 
did till the time of his death, about two years after. About 
this time, Cambyses, king of Persia, the father of Cyrus, hav- 
ing also died, Cyrus became sole monarch of the second uni- 
versal empire of prophecy, b. c. 536. This being reckoned as 
his first year, his third year, in which this vision was given to 
Daniel, would be dated b. c. 534, The death of Daniel is sup- 

[213] 



214 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



posed to have occurred soon after this, he being at this time,, 
according to Prideaux, not less than ninety-one years of age. 

Verse 2. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 
3. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, 
neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. 

The marginal reading for " three full weeks " is 4 4 weeks of 
days; " which term Dr. Stonard thinks is here used to distin- 
guish the time spoken of from the weeks of years , brought to 
view in the preceding chapter. 

For what purpose did this aged servant of God thus humble 
himself and afflict his soul ? — Evidently for the purpose of 
understanding more fully the divine purpose concerning events 
that were to befall the church of God in coming time; for the 
divine messenger sent to instruct him says, u From the first 
day that thou didst set thine heart to understand^ etc. Verse 
12. There was then still something which Daniel did not 
understand, but in reference to which he earnestly desired 
light. What was it ? — It was undoubtedly some part of his 
last preceding vision; namely, the vision of chapter 9, and 
through that of the vision of chapter 8, of which chapter 9 was 
but a further explanation. And as the result of his supplica- 
tion, he now receives more minute information respecting the 
events included in the great outlines of his former visions. 

This mourning of the prophet is supposed to have been 
accompanied with fasting; not an absolute abstinence from 
food, but a use of only the plainest and most simple articles of 
diet. He ate no pleasant bread, no delicacies nor dainties; he 
used no flesh nor wine; and he did not anoint his head, which 
was with the Jews an outward sign of fasting. How long he 
would have continued this fast had he not received the answer 
to his prayer, we know not; but his course in continuing it 
for three full weeks shows that, being assured his request was 
lawful, he was not a person to cease his supplication till his 
petition was granted. 

Verse 4. And in the four and twentieth day of the first mouth,, 
as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel ; 5. Then I 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 1-9. 



215 



lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in 
linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz : 6. His body 
also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and 
his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to pol- 
ished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7. 
And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw 
not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to 
hide themselves. 8. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great 
vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was 
turned in me into corruption, and 1 retained no strength 9. Yet heard 
I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then 
was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. 

By the Kiver Hiddekel the Syriac understands the Eu- 
phrates; the Yulgate, Greek, and Arabic, the Tigris ; hence 
Wintle concludes that the prophet had this vision at the place 
where these rivers unite, as they do not far from the Persian 
Gulf. 

A most majestic personage visited Daniel on this occasion. 
The description of him is almost parallel to that given of 
Christ in the Revelation, chapter 1 : 14-16; and the effect of 
his presence was about such as was experienced by Paul and 
his companions when the Lord met them on their way to 
Damascus. Acts 9 : 1-7. But this was not the Lord; for the 
Lord is introduced as Michael in verse 13. It must therefore 
have been an angel, but one of no ordinary character. The 
inquiry then arises, Of what angel can such a description be 
truthfully given? There are some points of identity between 
this and other passages which plainly show that this was the 
angel Gabriel. In chapter 8 : 16 Gabriel is introduced by 
name. His interview with Daniel at that time produced 
exactly the same effect upon the prophet as that described in 
the passage before us. At that time Gabriel was commanded 
to make Daniel understand the vision, and he himself promised 
to make him know what should be in the last end of the indig- 
nation. Having given Daniel all the instruction he was able 
to bear on that occasion, he subsequently resumed his work, 
and explained another great point in the vision, as recorded in 
chapter 9 : 20-27. Yet we learn from chapter 10 that there 
were some points still unexplained to the prophet ; and he set 



216 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



his heart again, with fasting and supplication, to understand 
the matter. 

A personage now appears whose presence has the same 
effect upon Daniel as that produced by the presence of Gabriel 
at the first; and he tells Daniel (verse 14), t; Now I am come 
to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the 
latter days," the very information Gabriel had promised to 
give, as recorded in chapter 8 : 19. But one conclusion can be 
drawn from these facts Daniel was seeking further light on 
the very vision which Gabriel had been commanded to make 
him understand. Once, already, he had made a special visit 
to Daniel to give him additional information when he sought 
it with prayer and fasting Now, when he is prepared for 
further instruction, and again seeks it in the same manner in 
reference to the same subject, can it for a moment be supposed 
that Gabriel disregarded his instruction, lost sight of his mis- 
sion, and suffered another angel to undertake the completion 
of his unfinished work % And the language of verse 14 clearly 
identifies the speaker with the one, who, in the vision of 
chapter 8, promised to do that work. 

Verse 10. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my 
knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11. And he said unto me, O 
Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto 
thee, and stand upright : for unto thee am I now sent. And when he 
had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12. Then said he unto 
me, Fear not, Daniel : for from the first day that thou didst set thine 
heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words 
were heard, and I am come for thy words. 

Daniel having fallen into a swoon at the majestic appearance 
of Gabriel (for so the expression < ' deep sleep ' ' of verse 9 is 
generally understood), the angel approaches, and lays his hand 
upon him to give him assurance and confidence to stand in his 
presence. He tells Daniel that he is a man greatly beloved. 
Wonderful declaration ! a member of the human family, one 
of the same race with us, loved, not merely in the general 
sense in which God loved the whole world when he gave his 
Son to die for them, but loved as an individual, and that 
greatly ! Well might the prophet receive confidence from such 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 10-12. 



217 



a declaration as that, to stand even in the presence of Gabriel. 
He tells him, moreover, that he is come for the purpose of an 
interview with him, and he wishes him to bring his mind into 
a proper state to understand his words. Being thus addressed, 
the holy and beloved prophet, assured, but yet trembling, 
stood before the heavenly angel. 

"Fear not, Daniel, " continues Gabriel. He had no occa- 
sion to fear before one, even though a divine being, who had 
been sent to him because he was greatly beloved, and in 
answer to his earnest prayer. Nor ought the people of God 
of any age to entertain a servile fear of any of those agents 
who are sent forth to minister to their salvation. There is, 
however, a disposition manifested among far too many to allow 
their minds to conceive of Jesus and his angels as only stern 
ministers of justice, inflicters of vengeance and retribution, 
rather than as beings who are earnestly working for our salva- 
tion on account of the pity and love with which they regard us. 
The presence of an angel, should he appear bodily before them, 
would strike them with terror; and the thought that Christ is 
soon to appear, and they are to be taken into his presence, 
distresses and alarms them. We recommend to such more 
amiable views of the relation which the Christian sustains to 
Christ, the head of the church, and a little more of that perfect 
love which casts out all fear. 

On verse 12 Bagster has the following pointed note : 
' ' Daniel, as Bishop Newton observes, was now very far ad- 
vanced in years; for the third year of Cyrus was the seventy- 
third of his captivity; and being a youth when carried captive, 
he cannot be supposed to have been less than ninety. Old as 
he was, ' he set his heart to understand ' the former revelations 
which had been made to him, and particularly the vision of the 
ram and he-goat, as may be collected from the sequel; and for 
this purpose he prayed 'and fasted three weeks. His fasting 
and prayers had the desired effect, for an angel was sent to 
unfold to him those mysteries; and whoever would excel in 
divine knowledge must imitate Daniel, and habituate himself 
to study, temperance, and devotion." 



218 



PROPHECY OF DAXIEL. 



Verse 13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one 
and twenty days : but, lo. Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help 
me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 

How often the prayers of God's people are heard, while as 
jet there is no apparent answer. It was even so in this case 
with Daniel. The angel tells him that from the f rst day he 
set his heart to understand, his words were heard. Yet Daniel 
continued to afflict his soul with fasting, and to wrestle with 
God for three full weeks, all unaware that any respect was yet 
paid to his petition. But why was the delay ? — The king of 
Persia withstood the angel. The answer to Daniel's prayer 
involved some action on the part of that king. This action he 
must be influenced to perform. It doubtless pertained to the 
work which he was to do, and had already begun to do, in 
behalf of the temple at Jerusalem and the Jews, his decree for 
- the building of that temple being the first of the series which 
finally constituted that notable commandment to restore and 
build Jerusalem, at the going forth of which the great prophetic 
period of 2300 days was to begin. And the angel is des- 
patched to influence him to go forward in accordance with the 
divine will. 

Ah, how little do we realize what is going on in the unseen 
world in relation to human affairs ! Here, as it were, the 
curtain is for a moment lifted, and we catch a glimpse of the 
movements within. Daniel prays. The Creator of the universe 
hears. The command is issued to Gabriel to go to his relief. 
But the king of Persia must act before Daniel's prayer is 
answered; and the angel hastens to the Persian king. Satan 
no doubt musters his forces to oppose. They meet in the 
royal palace of Persia. All the motives of selfish interest and 
worldly policy which Satan can play upon, he doubtless uses 
to the best advantage to influence the king against compliance 
with God's will, while Gabriel brings to bear his influence in 
the other direction. The king struggles between conflicting 
emotions- He hesitates; he delays. Day after day passes 
away; yet Daniel prays on. The king still refuses to yield 
to the influence of the angel; three weeks expire, and lo ! a 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 13, 14. 



219 



mightier than Gabriel takes his place in the palace of the king, 
and Gabriel appears to Daniel to acquaint him with the prog- 
ress of events. From the first, said he, your prayer was heard; 
but during these three weeks which you have devoted to prayer 
* and fasting, the king of Persia has resisted my influence and 
prevented my coming. 

Such was the effect of prayer. And God has erected no 
barriers between himself and his people since Daniel's time. 
It is still their privilege to offer up prayer as fervent and effectual 
as his, and, like Jacob, to have power with God, and to prevail. 

Who was Michael, who here came to Gabriel's assistance ? 
The term signifies, " He who is like God; " and the Scriptures 
clearly show that Christ is the one who bears this name. Jude 
(verse 9) declares that Michael is the archangel. Archangel 
signifies "head or chief angel;'' and Gabriel, in our text, calls 
him one, or, as the margin reads, the first, of the chief princes. 
There can be but one archangel; and hence it is manifestly im- 
proper to use the word, as some do, in the plural. The Scrip- 
tures never so use it. Paul, in 1 Thess. 4 : 16, states that 
when the Lord appears the second time to raise the dead, the 
voice of the archangel is heard. Whose voice is heard when 
the dead are raised ? — The voice of the Son of God. John 
5 : 28. Putting these scriptures together, they prove, (1) that 
the dead are called from their graves by the voice of the Son 
of God ; (2) that the voice which is then heard is the voice of 
the archangel, proving that the archangel is the Son of God; 
and (3) that the archangel is called Michael; from which it 
follows that Michael is the Son of God. In the last verse of 
Daniel 10, he is called "your prince," and in the first of 
chapter 12, u the great prince which standeth for the children 
of thy people," expressions which can appropriately be applied 
to Christ, but to no other being. 

Verse 14. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall 
befall thy people in the latter days : for yet the vision is for many days. 

The expression 4 ' yet the vision is for many days, ' ' reach- 
ing far into the future, and embracing what should befall the 



220 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL, 



people of God even in the latter days, shows conclusively that 
the days given in that vision, namely the 2300, cannot mean 
literal days, but must be days of years. (See on chapter 9, 
verses 25-27.) 

Verse 15. And when he had spoken such words unto me. I set my 
face toward the ground, and I became dumb. 16. And, behold, one like 
the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips : then I opened my 
mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord, 
by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no 
strength. 17. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this 
my lord? for as for me, straightway there remaineth no strength in me, 
neither is there any breath left in me. 

One of the most marked characteristics manifested by 
Daniel was the tender solicitude he felt for his people. Hav- 
ing come now clearly to comprehend that the vision portended 
long ages of oppression and suffering for the church, he was so 
affected by the view that his strength departed from him, his 
breath ceased, and the power of speech was gone. The vision 
of verse 16 doubtless refers to the former vision of chapter 8. 

Verse 18. Then there came again and touched me one like the ap- 
pearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19. And said, O man 
greatly beloved, fear not : peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong- 
And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let 
my lord speak ; for thou hast strengthened me. 20. Then said he, 
Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee ? and now will I return to 
fight with the prince of Persia : and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince 
of Grecia shall come. 21. But I will show thee that which is noted in 
the Scripture of truth : and there is none that holdeth with me in these 
things, but Michael your prince. 

The prophet is at length strengthened to hear in full the 
communication which the angel has to make. And Gabriel 
says, " Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee?" That 
is, do you now know to what end I have come % Do you un- 
derstand my purpose so that you will no more fear % He then 
announced his intention to return, as soon as his communica- 
tion was complete, to fight with the king of Persia. The word 
with is, in the Septuagint, meta, and signifies, not against; but 
in common with, along-side of ; that is, the angel of God 
would stand on the side of the Persian kingdom so long as it 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 15-21. 



221 



was in the providence of God that that kingdom should con- 
tinue. " But when I am gone forth," continues Gabriel, " lo, 
the prince of Grecia shall come." That is, when he withdraws 
his support from that kingdom, and the providence of God oper- 
ates in behalf of another kingdom, the prince of Grecia shall 
come, and the Persian monarchy be overthrown. 

Gabriel then announced that none — God of course excepted 
— had an understanding with him in the matters he was about 
to communicate except Michael the prince. And after he had 
made them known to Daniel, then there were four beings in 
the universe with whom rested a knowledge of these impor- 
tant truths, — Daniel, Gabriel, Christ, and God. Four links in 
this ascending chain of witnesses, — the first, Daniel, a member 
of the human family ; the last, Jehovah, the God of all ! 




CHAPTER XI 

^ / 



V- " ' 1 JV\ 




Verse 1. Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood 
to confirm and to strengthen him. 2. And now will I show thee the 
truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the 
fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his 
riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. 

>E now enter upon a prophecy of future events, clothed 
not in figures and symbols, as in the visions of 
chapters 2, 7, and 8, but given mostly in plain lan- 
guage. Many of the signal events of the world's history, from 
the days of Daniel to the end of the world, are here brought to 
view. This prophecy, says Bishop Newton, may not improp- 
erly be said to be a comment and explanation of the vision of 
chapter 8; a statement showing how clearly he perceived the 
connection between that vision and the remainder of the -book. 

The angel, after stating that he stood, in the first year of 
Darius, to confirm and strengthen him, turns his attention to 
the future. Three kings shall yet stand up in Persia. To 
stand up means to reign; three kings were to reign in Persia, 
referring, doubtless, to the immediate successors of Cyrus. 
These were, (1) Cambyses, son of Cyrus; (2) Smerdis, an 
impostor; (3) Darius Hystaspes. 

The fourth shall be far richer than they all. The fourth 
king from Cyrus was Xerxes, more famous for his riches than 
his generalship, and conspicuous in history for the magnificent 
[ 222 ] 



/ 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 1-4. 



223 



campaign he organized against Grecia, and his utter failure in 
that enterprise. He was to stir up all against the realm of 
Grecia. Never before had there been such a levy of men for 
warlike purposes; never has there been since. His army, ac- 
cording to Herodotus, who lived in that age, consisted of five 
million two hundred and eighty-three thousand two hundred 
and twenty men (5,283,220). And not content with stirring 
up the East alone, he enlisted the Garthaginians of the West in 
his service, who took the field with an additional army of three 
hundred thousand men, raising his entire force to the almost 
fabulous number of over five million and a half. As Xerxes 
looked over that vast concourse, he is said to have wept at the 
thought that in a hundred years from that time not one of all 
those men would be left alive. 

Verse 3. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with 
great dominion, and do according to his will. 4. And when he shall 
stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the 
four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his 
dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for 
others beside those. 

The facts stated in these verses plainly point to Alexander, 
and the division of his empire. (See on chapter 8:8.) Xerxes 
was the last Persian king who invaded Grecia; and the proph- 
ecy therefore passes over the nine successors of Xerxes in the 
Persian empire, and next introduces Alexander the Great. 
Having overthrown the Persian empire, Alexander ' ' became 
absolute monarch of that empire, to the fullest extent it was 
ever possessed by any of the Persian kings." — Prideaux, Vol. 
I, p. 378. His dominion was great, including ' < the greater 
portion of the then known habitable world ; " and he did 
according to his will. His will led him, b. o. 323, into a 
drunken debauch, as the result of which he died as the fool 
dieth; and his vainglorious and ambitious projects went into 
sudden, total, and everlasting eclipse. The kingdom was 
divided, but not for his posterity; it was plucked up for 
others besides those. Within fifteen years after his death, all 
his posterity had fallen victims to the jealousy and ambition 



224 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



of his leading generals. Not one of the race of Alexander 
was left to breathe upon the earth. So short is the transit 
from the highest pinnacle of earthly glory to the lowest depths 
of oblivion and death. The kingdom was rent into four 
divisions, and taken possession of by Alexander's four ablest, 
or perhaps most ambitious and unprincipled generals, — Cas- 
sander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy. 

Verse 5. And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his 
princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his 
dominion shall be a great dominion. 

The king of the north and the king of the south are 
many times referred to in the remaining portion of this chap- 
ter. It therefore becomes essential to an understanding of the 
prophecy clearly to identify these powers. When Alexander's 
- empire was divided, the different portions lay toward the four 
winds of heaven, west, north, east, and south; these divisions 
of course to be reckoned from the standpoint of Palestine, the 
native land of the prophet. That division of the empire lying 
west of Palestine would thus constitute the kingdom of the 
west; that lying north, the kingdom of the north; that lying 
east, the kingdom of the east; and that lying south, the king- 
dom of the south. The divisions of Alexander' s kingdom with 
respect to Palestine were situated as follows : Cassander had 
Greece and the adjacent countries, which lay to the west ; 
Lysimachus had Thrace, which then included Asia Minor, and 
the countries lying on the Hellespont and Bosporus, which lay 
to the north of Palestine ; Seleucus had Syria and Babylon, 
which lay principally to the east ; and Ptolemy had Egypt 
and the neighboring countries, which lay to the south. 

During the wars and revolutions which for long ages suc- 
ceeded, these geographical boundaries were frequently changed 
or obliterated; old ones were wiped out, and new ones insti- 
tuted. But whatever changes might occur, these first divis- 
ions of the empire must determine the names which these 
portions of territory should ever afterward bear, or we have 
no standard by which to test the application of the prophecy; 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 5, 6. 



225 



that is, whatever power at any time should occupy the terri- 
tory which at first constituted the kingdom of the north, that 
power, so long as it occupied that territory, would be the king 
of the north; and whatever power should occupy that which 
at first constituted the kingdom of the south, that power would 
so long be the king of the south. We speak of only these two, 
because they are the only ones afterward spoken of in the 
prophecy, and because, in fact, almost the whole of Alexan- 
der's empire finally resolved itself into these two divisions. 

Cassander was very soon conquered by Lysimachus, and 
his kingdom, Greece and Macedon, annexed to Thrace. And 
Lysimachus was in turn conquered by Seleucus, and Macedon 
and Thrace annexed to Syria. 

These facts prepare the way for an application of the text 
before us. The king of the south, Egypt, shall be strong. 
Ptolemy annexed Cyprus, Phoenicia, Caria, Cyrene, and many 
islands and cities to Egypt. Thus was his kingdom made 
strong. But another of Alexander's princes is introduced in 
the expression, " one of his princes." The Septuagint trans- 
lates the verse thus : 6 ' And the king of the south shall be 
strong, and one- of his [Alexander's] princes shall be strong 
above him." This must refer to Seleucus, who, as already 
stated, having annexed Macedon and Thrace to Syria, thus be- 
came possessor of three parts out of four of Alexander's do- 
minion, and established a more powerful kingdom than that of 
Egypt. 

Verse 6. And in the end of years they shall join themselves to- 
gether; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of 
the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of 
the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, 
and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strength- 
ened her in these times. 

There were frequent wars between the kings of Egypt and 
Syria. Especially was this the case with Ptolemy Philadel- 
phus, the second king of Egypt, and Antiochus Theos, third 
king of Syria. They at length agreed to make peace upon 
condition that Antiochus Theos should put away his former 
15 



226 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



wife, Laodice, and her two sons, and should marry Berenice, 
the daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphia. Ptolemy accordingly 
brought his daughter to Antiochus, bestowing with her an 
. immense dowry. 

"But she shall not retain the power of the arm; " that is, 
her interest and power with Antiochus. And so it proved; for 
some time shortly after, in a fit of love, Antiochus brought 
back his former wife, Laodice, and her children, to court again. 
Then says the prophecy, "Neither shall he [Antiochus] stand, 
nor his arm," or seed. Laodice, being restored to favor and 
power, feared lest, in the fickleness of his temper, Antiochus 
should again disgrace her, and recall Berenice; and conceiving 
that nothing short of his death would be an effectual safeguard 
against such a contingency, she caused him to be poisoned 
shortly after. Neither did his seed by Berenice succeed him 
- in the kingdom; for Laodice so managed affairs as to secure 
the throne for her eldest son, Seleucus Callinicus. 

"But she [Berenice] shall be given up." Laodice, not con- 
tent with poisoning her husband, Antiochus, caused Berenice 
to be murdered. " And they that brought her. ,, Her Egyp- 
tian women and attendants, in endeavoring to defend her, 
were many of them slain with her. ' ' And he that begat her, ' ' 
margin, " whom she brought forth; " that is, her son, who was 
murdered at the same time by order of Laodice. ' ' And he that 
strengthened her in these times;" her husband, Antiochus, as 
Jerome supposes, or those who took her part and defended her. 

But such wickedness could not long remain unpunished, as 
the prophecy further predicts, and further history proves. 

Verse 7. But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his 
estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress 
of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: 
8. And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, 
and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall con- 
tinue more years than the king of the north. 9. So the king of the south 
shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. 

This branch out of the same root with Berenice was her 
brother, Ptolemy Euergetes. He had no sooner succeeded his 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES ^-0. 



227 



father, Ptolemy Philadelphus, in the kingdom of Egypt, than, 
burning to avenge the death of his sister, Berenice, he raised 
an immense army, and invaded the territory of the king of the 
north, that is, of Seleucus Callinicus, who, with his mother, 
Laodice, reigned in Syria. And he prevailed against them, 
even to the conquering of Syria, Cilicia, the upper parts 
beyond the Euphrates, and almost all Asia. But hearing that 
a sedition was raised in Egypt, requiring his return home, 
he plundered the kingdom of Seleucus, took forty thousand 
talents of silver and precious vessels, and two thousand five 
hundred images of the gods, Among these were the images 
which Cambyses had formerly taken from Egypt and carried 
into Persia. The Egyptians, being wholly given to idolatry, 
bestowed upon Ptolemy the title of Euergetes, or the Bene- 
factor, as a compliment for his having thus, after many years, 
restored their captive gods. 

This, according to' Bishop Newton, is Jerome's account, 
extracted from ancient historians; but there are authors still 
extant, he says, who confirm several of the same particulars. 
Appian informs us that Laodice, having killed Antiochus, and 
after him both Berenice and her child, Ptolemy, the son of 
Philadelphus, to revenge those murders, invaded Syria, slew 
Laodice, and proceeded as far as Babylon. From Polybius 
we learn that Ptolemy, surnamed Euergetes, being greatly 
incensed at the cruel treatment of his sister, Berenice, marched 
with an army into Syria, and took the city of Seleucia, which 
was kept for some years afterward by the garrisons of the 
kings of Egypt. Thus did he enter into the fortress of the 
king of the north. Polyeenus affirms that Ptolemy made him- 
self master of all the country from Mount Taurus as far as to 
India, without war or battle; but he ascribes it by mistake to 
the father instead of the son. Justin asserts that if Ptolemy 
had not been recalled into Egypt by a domestic sedition, he 
would have possessed the whole kingdom of Seleucus. The 
king of the south thus came into the dominion of the king of 
the north, and returned to his own land, as the prophet had. 
foretold. And he also continued more years than the king 



228 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



of the north; for Seleucus Callinicus died in exile, of a fall 
from his horse; and Ptolemy Euergetes survived him for four 
or five years. 

Verse 10. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a 
multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, 
and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his 
fortress. 

The first part of this verse speaks of sons, in the plural ; 
the last part, of one, in the singular. The sons of Seleucus 
Callinicus were Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus Magnus. 
These both entered with zeal upon the work of vindicating and 
avenging the cause of their father and their country. The 
elder of these, Seleucus, first took the throne. He assembled 
a great multitude to recover his father's dominions ; but being 
a weak and pusillanimous prince, both in body and estate, 
. destitute of money, and unable to keep his army in obedience, 
he was poisoned by two of his generals after an inglorious 
reign of two or three years. His more capable brother, Antio- 
chus Magnus, was thereupon proclaimed king, who, taking 
charge of the army, retook Seleucia and recovered Syria, mak- 
ing himself master of some places by treaty, and of others by 
force of arms. A truce followed, wherein both sides treated 
for peace, yet prepared for war ; after which Antiochus re- 
turned and overcame in battle Nicholaus, the Egyptian general, 
and had thoughts of invading Egypt itself. Here is the " one" 
who should certainly overflow and pass through. 

Verse 11. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, 
and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the 
north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall 
be given into his hand. 

Ptolemy Philopater succeeded his father, Euergetes, in the 
kingdom of Egypt, being advanced to the crown not long after 
Antiochus Magnus had succeeded his brother in the government 
of Syria. He was a most luxurious and vicious prince, but was 
at length roused at the prospect of an invasion of Egypt by 
Antiochus. He was indeed 1 'moved with choler" for the 
losses he had sustained, and the danger which threatened him ; 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 10-12. 



229 



and he came forth out of Egypt with a numerous army to check 
the progress of the Syrian king. The king of the north was 
also to set forth a great multitude. The army of Antiochus, 
according to Polybius, amounted on this occasion to sixty-two 
thousand foot, six thousand horse, and one hundred and two 
elephants. In the battle, Antiochus was defeated, and his 
army, according to prophecy, was given into the hands of the 
king of the south. Ten thousand foot and three thousand horse 
were slain, and over four thousand men were taken prisoners ; 
while of Ptolemy's army there were slain only seven hundred 
horse, and about twice that number of infantry. 

Verse 12. And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart 
shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he 
shall not be strengthened by it. 

Ptolemy lacked the prudence to make a good use of his 
victory. Had he followed up his success, he would probably 
have become master of the whole kingdom of Antiochus ; but 
content with making only a few menaces and a few threats, 
he made peace that he might be able to give himself up to the 
uninterrupted and uncontrolled indulgence of his brutish pas- 
sions. Thus, having conquered his enemies, he was overcome 
by his vices, and, forgetful of the great name which he might 
have established, he spent his time in feasting and lewdness. 

His heart was lifted up by his success, but he was far from 
being strengthened by it ; for the inglorious use he made of 
it caused his own subjects to rebel against him. But the lift- 
ing up of his heart was more especially manifested in his trans- 
actions with the Jews. Coming to Jerusalem, he there offered 
sacrifices, and was very desirous of entering into the most holy 
place of the temple, contrary to the law and religion of that 
place ; but being, though with great difficulty, restrained, he 
left the place, burning with anger against the whole nation of 
the Jews, and immediately commenced against them a terrible 
and relentless persecution. In Alexandria, where Jews had 
resided since the days of Alexander, and enjoyed the privileges 
of the most favored citizens, forty thousand, according to Euse- 
bius, sixty thousand, according to Jerome, were slain in this 



230 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



persecution. The rebellion of the Egyptians, and this mas- 
sacre of the Jews, certainly were not calculated to strengthen 
him in his kingdom, but were sufficient rather almost totally 
to ruin it. 

Verse 13. For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth 
a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after cer- 
tain years with a great army and with much riches. 

The events predicted in this verse were to occur u after 
certain years. 1 ' The peace concluded between Ptolemy Philopa- 
ter and Antiochus, lasted fourteen years. Meanwhile Ptolemy 
died from intemperance and debauchery, and was succeeded 
by his son, Ptolemy Epiphanes, a child then four or five years 
old. Antiochus, during the same time, having suppressed re- 
bellion in his kingdom, and reduced and settled the eastern 
parts in their obedience, was at leisure for any enterprise, when 
young Epiphanes came to the throne of Egypt; and thinking 
this too good an opportunity for enlarging his dominion to be 
let slip, he raised an immense army 4 ' greater than the former ' 5 
( for he had collected many forces and acquired great riches in 
his eastern expedition), and set out against Egypt, expecting 
to have an easy victory over the infant king. How he suc- 
ceeded we shall presently see; for here new complications enter 
into the affairs of these kingdoms, and new actors are intro- 
duced upon the stage of history. 

Verse 14. And in those times there shall many stand up against the 
king of the south : also the robbers of thy people shalt exalt themselves 
to establish the vision ; but they shall fall. 

Antiochus was not the only one who rose up against the 
infant Ptolemy. Agathocles, his prime minister, having pos- 
session of the king's person, and conducting the affairs of the 
kingdom in his stead, was so dissolute and proud in the exercise 
of his power that the provinces which before were subject to 
Egypt rebelled; Egypt itself was disturbed by seditions; and 
the Alexandrians, rising up against Agathocles, caused him, 
his sister, his mother, and their associates, to be put to 
death. At the same time, Philip, king of Macedon, entered 
into a league with Antiochus to divide the dominions of Ptol- 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 13, 14. 



231 



emy between them, each proposing to take the parts which lay 
nearest and most convenient to him. Here was a rising up 
against the king of the south sufficient to fulfil the prophecy, 
and the very events, beyond doubt, which the prophecy in- 
tended. 

A new power is now introduced, — "the robbers of thy 
people;" literally, says Bishop Newton, " the breakers of thy 
people." Far away on the banks of the Tiber, a kingdom 
had been nourishing itself with ambitious projects and dark 
designs. Small and weak at first, it grew with marvelous 
rapidity in strength and vigor, reaching out cautiously here 
and there to try its prowess, and test the vigor of its warlike 
arm, till, conscious of its power, it boldly reared its head 
among the nations of the earth, and seized with invincible 
hand the helm of their affairs. Henceforth the name of Rome 
stands upon the historic page, destined for long ages to control 
the affairs of the world, and exert a mighty influence among 
the nations, even to the end of time. 

Eome spoke ; and Syria and Macedonia soon found a 
change coming over the aspect of their dream. The Romans 
interfered in behalf of the young king of Egypt, determined 
that he should be protected from the ruin devised by Antiochus 
and Philip. This was b. c. 200, and was one of the first im- 
portant interferences of the Romans in the affairs of Syria and 
Egypt. Rollin furnishes the following succinct account of this 
matter : — 

' ' Antiochus, king of Syria, and Philip, king of Macedonia, 
during the reign of Ptolemy Philopater, had discovered the 
strongest zeal for the interests of that monarch, and were ready 
to assist him on all occasions. Yet no sooner was he dead, 
leaving behind him an infant, whom the laws of humanity and 
justice enjoined them not to disturb in the possession of his 
father's kingdom, than they immediately joined in a crim- 
inal alliance, and excited each other to shake off the lawful 
heir, and divide his dominions between them. Philip was to 
have Caria, Libya, Cyrenaica, and Egypt; and Antiochus, all 
the rest. With this view, the latter entered Ccele- Syria and 



232 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Palestine, and in less than two compaigns made an entire con- 
quest of the two provinces, with all their cities and dependen- 
cies. Their guilt, says Polybius, would not have been quite so 
glaring, had they, like tyrants, endeavored to gloss over their 
crimes with some specious pretense; but, so far from doing 
this, their injustice and cruelty were so barefaced, that to them 
was applied what is generally said of fishes, that the larger 
ones, though of the same species, prey on the lesser. One 
would be tempted, continues the same author, at seeing the 
most sacred laws of society so openly violated, to accuse Provi- 
dence of being indifferent and insensible to the most horrid 
crimes; but it fully justified its conduct by punishing those 
two kings according to their deserts ; and made such an 
example of them as ought, in all succeeding ages, to deter 
others from following their example. For, while they were 
meditating to dispossess a weak and helpless infant of his 
kingdom by piecemeal, Providence raised up the Romans 
against them, who entirely subverted the kingdoms of Philip 
and Antiochus, and reduced their successors to almost as great 
calamities as those with which they intended to crush the 
infant king." — Ancient History, Book 18, chaj). SO. 

' 4 To establish the vision. ' ' The Romans being more promi- 
nently than any other people the subject of Daniel's prophecy, 
their first interference in the affairs of these kingdoms is here re- 
ferred to as being the establishment, or demonstration, of the 
truth of the vision which predicted the existence of such a power. 

" But they shall fall.*' Some refer this to those mentioned 
in the first part of the verse, who should stand up against the 
king of the south; others, to the robbers of Daniel's people, 
the Romans. It is true in either case. If those who combined 
against Ptolemy are referred to, all that need be said is that they 
did speedily fall ; and if it applies to the Romans, the prophecy 
simply looked forward to the period of their overthrow. 

Verse 15. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, 
and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not 
withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength 
to withstand. 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 15, 16. 



233 



The tuition of the young king of Egypt was entrusted by 
the Koman Senate to M. Emilius Lepidus, who appointed Aris- 
tomenes, an old and experienced minister of that court, his 
guardian. His first act was to provide against the threatened 
invasion of the two confederated kings, Philip and Antiochus. 

To this end he despatched Scopas, a famous general of 
iEtolia, then in the service of the Egyptians, into his native 
country to raise reinforcements for the army. Having 
equipped an army, he marched into Palestine and Ccele-Syria 
(Antiochus being engaged in a war with Attalus in Lesser 
Asia), and reduced all Judea into subjection to the authority 
of Egypt. 

Thus affairs were brought into a posture for the fulfil- 
ment of the verse before us. For Antiochus, desisting from 
his war. with Attalus at the dictation of the Romans, took 
speedy steps for the recovery of Palestine and Ccele-Syria 
from the hands of the Egyptians. Scopas was sent to oppose 
him. Near the sources of the Jordan, the two armies met. 
Scopas was defeated, pursued to Sidon, and there closely be- 
sieged. Three of the ablest generals of Egypt, with their best 
forces, were sent to raise the siege, but without success. At 
length Scopas meeting, in the gaunt and intangible specter of 
famine, a foe with whom he was unable to cope, was forced to 
surrender on the dishonorable terms of life only; whereupon 
he and his ten thousand men were suffered to depart, stripped 
and naked. Here was the taking of the most fenced cities by 
the king of the north; for Sidon was, both in its situation and 
its defenses, one of the strongest cities of those times. Here 
was the failure of the arms of the south to withstand, and the 
failure also of the people which the king of the south had 
chosen, namely, Scopas and his ^Etolian forces. 

Verse 16. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his 
own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the 
glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. 

Although Egypt could not stand before Antiochus, the king 
of the north, Antiochus could not stand before the Romans, 
who now came against him. No kingdoms were longer able 



234 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



to resist this rising power. Syria was conquered, and added 
to the Roman empire, when Pompey, b. c. 65, deprived 
Antiochus Asiaticus of his possessions, and reduced Syria to 
a Roman province. 

The same power was also to stand in the Holy Land, and 
consume it. Rome became connected with the people of God, 
the Jews, by alliance, b. c. 161, from which date it holds a 
prominent place in the prophetic calendar. It did not, how- 
ever, acquire jurisdiction over Judea by actual conquest till 
b. c. 63; and then in the following manner. 

On Pompey' s return from his expedition against Mithri- 
dates, king of Pontus, two competitors, Hyrcanus and Aristob- 
ulus, were struggling for the crown of Judea. Their cause 
came before Pompey, who soon perceived the injustice of the 
claims of Aristobuius, but wished to defer decision in the 
- matter till after his long-desired expedition into Arabia, prom- 
ising then to return, and settle their affairs as should seem just 
and proper. Aristobuius, fathoming Pompey 's real sentiments, 
hastened back to Judea, armed his subjects, and prepared for 
a vigorous defense, determined, at all hazards, to keep the 
crown, which he foresaw would be adjudicated to another. 
Pompey closely followed the fugitive. As he approached 
Jerusalem, Aristobuius, beginning to repent of his course, 
came out to meet him, and endeavored to accommodate mat- 
ters by promising entire submission, and large sums of money. 
Pompey, accepting this offer, sent Gabinius, at the head of a 
detachment of soldiers, to receive the money. But when that 
lieutenant-general arrived at Jerusalem, he found the gates 
shut against him, and was told from the top of the walls that 
the city would not stand to the agreement, 

Pompey, not to be deceived in this way with impunity, put 
Aristobuius, whom he had retained with him, in irons, and 
immediately marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. 
The partisans of Aristobuius were for defending the place; 
those of Hyrcanus, for opening the gates. The latter being in 
the majority, and prevailing, Pompey was given free entrance 
into the city. Whereupon the adherents of Aristobuius retired 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 17. 



235 



to the mountain of the temple, as fully determined to defend 
that place as Pompey was to reduce it. At the end of three 
months a breach was made in the wall sufficient for an assault, 
and the place was carried at the point of the sword. In the 
terrible slaughter that ensued, twelve thousand persons were 
slain. It was an affecting sight, observes the historian, to see 
the priests, engaged at the time in divine service, with calm 
hand and steady purpose pursue their accustomed work, ap- 
parently unconscious of the wild tumult, though all around 
them their friends were given to the slaughter, and though 
often their own blood mingled with that of their sacrifices. 

Having put an end to the war, Pompey demolished the 
walls of Jerusalem, transferred several cities from the jurisdic- 
tion of Judea to that of Syria, and imposed tribute on the Jews. 
Thus for the first time was Jerusalem placed by conquest in 
the hands of that power which was to hold the 6 ' glorious land ' ' 
in its iron grasp till it had utterly consumed it. 

Verse 17. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his 
whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he 
shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not 
stand on his side, neither be for him. 

Bishop Newton furnishes another reading for this verse, 
which seems more clearly to express the sense, as follows: 
' ' He shall also set his face to enter by force the whole king- 
dom." Yerse 16 brought us down to the conquest of Syria 
and Judea by the Romans. Rome had previously conquered 
Macedon and Thrace. Egypt was now all that remained of 
the ' ' whole kingdom ' ' of Alexander, not brought into subjec- 
tion to the Roman power, which power now set its face to 
enter by force into that country. 

Ptolemy Auletes died b. c. 51. He left the crown and 
kingdom of Egypt to his eldest son and daughter, Ptolemy and 
Cleopatra. It was provided in his will that they should marry 
together, and reign jointly; and because they were young, 
they were placed under the guardianship of the Romans. The 
Roman people accepted the charge, and appointed Pompey as 
guardian of the young heirs of Egypt. 



236 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



A quarrel having not long after broken out between Pom- 
pey and Csesar, the famous battle of Pharsalia was fought be- 
tween the two generals, Pompey, being defeated, fled into 
Egypt. Csesar immediately followed him thither; but before 
his arrival, Pompey was basely murdered by Ptolemy, whose 
guardian he had been appointed. Csesar therefore assumed the 
appointment which had been given to Pompey, as guardian of 
Ptolemy and Cleopatra. He found Egypt in commotion from 
intestine disturbances, Ptolemy and Cleopatra having become 
hostile to each other, and she being deprived of her share in 
the government. Notwithstanding this, he did not hesitate to 
land at Alexandria with his small force, 800 horse and 3200 
foot, take cognizance of the quarrel, and undertake its settle- 
ment. The troubles daily increasing, Csesar found his small 
force insufficient to maintain his position, and being unable to 
- leave Egypt on account of the north wind which blew at that 
season, he sent into Asia, ordering all the troops he had in 
that quarter to come to his assistance as soon as possible. 

In the most haughty manner he decreed that Ptolemy and 
Cleopatra should disband their armies, appear before him for 
a settlement of their differences, and abide by his decision. 
Egypt being an independent kingdom, this haughty decree 
was considered an affront to its royal dignity, at which the 
Egyptians, highly incensed, flew to arms. Csesar replied that 
he acted by virtue of the will of their father Auletes, who had 
put his children under the guardianship of the senate and peo- 
ple of Home, the whole authority of which was now vested in 
his person as consul; and that, as guardian, he had the right 
to arbitrate between them. 

The matter was finally brought before him, and advocates 
appointed to plead the cause of the respective parties. Cleo- 
patra, aware of the foible of the great Roman conqueror, 
judged that the beauty of her presence would be more effectual 
in securing judgment in her favor than any advocate she could 
employ. To reach his presence undetected, she had recourse 
to the following stratagem : Laying herself at full length in a 
bundle of clothes, Appolodorus, her Sicilian servant, wrapped 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 17. 



237 



it up in a cloth; tied it with a thong, and raising it upon his 
Herculean shoulders, sought the apartments of Caesar. Claim- 
ing to have a present for the Roman general, he was admitted 
through the gate of the citadel, entered into the presence of 
Caesar, and deposited the burden at his feet. When Caesar 
had unbound this animated bundle, lo ! the beautiful Cleopatra 
stood before him. He was far from being displeased with the 
stratagem, and being of a character described in 2 Peter 2 : 14, 
the first sight of so beautiful a person, says Rollin, had all the 
effect upon him she had desired. 

Caesar at length decreed that the brother and sister should 
occupy the throne jointly, according to the intent of the will. 
Pothinus, the chief minister of state, having been principally 
instrumental in expelling Cleopatra from the throne, feared 
the result of her restoration. He therefore began to excite 
jealousy and hostility against Caesar, by insinuating among the 
populace that he designed eventually to give Cleopatra the sole 
power. Open sedition soon followed Achillas, at the head of 
20,000 men, advanced to drive Caesar from Alexandria. Skil- 
fully disposing his small body of men in the streets and alleys 
of the city, Caesar found no difficulty in repelling the attack. 
The Egyptians undertook to destroy his fleet. He retorted by 
burning theirs. Some of the burning vessels being driven near 
the quay, several of the buildings of the city took fire, and the 
famous Alexandrian library, containing nearly 400,000 vol- 
umes, was destroyed. 

The war growing more threatening, Caesar sent into all the 
neighboring countries for help. A large fleet came from Asia 
Minor to his assistance. Mithridates set out for Egypt with an 
army raised in Syria and Cilicia. Antipater the Idumean joined 
him, with 3000 Jews. The Jews, who held the passes into 
Egypt, permitted the army to pass on without interruption. 
Without this co-operation on their part, the whole plan must 
have failed. The arrival of this army decided the contest. A 
decisive battle was fought near the Nile, resulting in a complete 
victory for Caesar. Ptolemy, attempting to escape, was 
drowned in the river. Alexandria and all Egypt then sub- 



238 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



mitted to the victor. Borne had now entered into and absorbed 
the whole of the original kingdom of Alexander. 

By the ' i upright ones ' ' of the text are doubtless meant the 
Jews, who gave him the assistance already mentioned. With- 
out this, he must have failed; with it, he completely subdued 
Egypt to his power, b. c. 47. 

' ' The daughter of women, corrupting her. ' ' The passion 
which Caesar had conceived for Cleopatra, by whom he had 
one son, is assigned by the historian as the sole reason of his 
undertaking so dangerous a campaign as the Egyptian war. 
This kept him much longer in Egypt than his affairs required, 
he spending whole nights in feasting and carousing with the 
dissolute queen. "But, " said the prophet, "she shall not 
stand on his side, neither be for him." Cleopatra afterward 
joined herself to Antony, the enemy of Augustus Caesar, and 
exerted her whole power against Rome. 

Verse 18. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall 
take many : but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach 
offered by him to cease ; without his own reproach he shall cause it to 
turn upon him. 

War with Pharnaces, king of the Cimmerian Bosporus, at 
length drew him away from Egypt. "On his arrival where 
the enemy was," says Prideaux, "he, without giving any res- 
pite either to himself or them, immediately fell on, and gained 
an absolute victory over them; an account whereof he wrote 
to a friend of his in these three words : Vmi, vidi, vici / I 
came, I saw, I conquered." The latter part of this verse is 
involved in some obscurity, and there is difference of opinion 
in regard to its application. Some apply it further back in 
Caesar's life, and think they find a fulfilment in his quarrel 
with Pompey. But preceding and subsequent events clearly 
defined in the prophecy, compel us to look for the fulfilment 
of this part of the prediction between the victory over Pharna- 
ces, and Caesar's death at Pome, as brought to view in the 
following verse. A more full history of this period might 
bring to light events which would render the application of this 
passage unembarrassed. 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 18-20. 



239 



Verse 19. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own 
land : but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. 

After this conquest, Caesar defeated the last remaining frag- 
ments of Pompey's party, Cato and Scipio in Africa, and La- 
bienus and Varus in Spain. Returning to Rome, the c ' fort of 
his own land," he was made perpetual dictator; and such other 
powers and honors were granted him as rendered him in fact 
absolute sovereign of the whole empire. But the prophet had 
said that he should stumble and fall. The language implies 
that his overthrow would be sudden and unexpected, like a 
person accidentally stumbling in his walk. And so this man, 
who had fought and won five hundred battles, taken one thou- 
sand cities, and slain one million one hundred and ninety-two 
thousand men, fell, not in the din of battle and the hour of 
strife, but when he thought his pathway was smooth and 
strewn with flowers, and when danger was supposed to be far 
away; for, taking his seat in the senate chamber, upon his 
throne of gold, to receive at the hands of that body the title of 
king, the dagger of treachery suddenly struck him to the heart. 
Cassius, Brutus, and other conspirators rushed upon him, and 
he fell, pierced with twenty-three wounds. Thus he suddenly 
stumbled and fell, and was not found, b. c. 44. 

Verse 20. Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the 
glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither 
in anger, nor in battle. 

Augustus Caesar succeeded his uncle, Julius, by whom he 
had been adopted as his successor. He publicly announced 
his adoption by his uncle, and took his name, to which he 
added that of Octavianus. Combining with Mark Antony and 
Lepidus to avenge the death of Caesar, they formed what is 
called the triumvirate form of government. Having subse- 
quently firmly established himself in the empire, the senate 
conferred upon him the title of Augustus, and the other mem- 
bers of the Triumvirate being now dead, he became supreme 
ruler. 

He was emphatically .a raiser of taxes. Luke, in speaking 
of the events that transpired at the time when Christ was born, 



240 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



says : "And it came to pass in those days, that there went 
out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should 
be taxed." Luke 2:1. That taxing which embraced all the 
world was an event worthy of notice ; and the person who 
enforced it has certainly a claim to the title of "a raiser of 
taxes," above every other competitor. 

The St. Louis Globe Democrat, as quoted in Current Lit- 
erature for July, 1895, says : " Augustus Caesar was not the 
public benefactor he is represented. He was the most exact- 
ing tax collector the Roman world had up to that time ever 
seen." 

And he stood up ' ' in the glory of the kingdom. ' ' Kome 
reached in his days the pinnacle of its greatness and power. 
The £ ' Augustan Age ' ' is an. expression everywhere used to 
denote the golden age of Roman history. Rome never saw a 
. brighter hour. Peace was promoted, justice maintained, lux- 
ury curbed, discipline established, and learning encouraged. 
In his reign, the temple of Janus was for the third time shut 
since the foundation of Rome, signifying that all the world was 
at peace ; and at this auspicious hour our Lord was born in 
Bethlehem of Judea. In a little less than eighteen years after 
the taxing brought to view, seeming but a "few days " to the 
distant gaze of the prophet, Augustus died, not in anger nor in 
battle, but peacefully in his bed, at Nola, whither he had gone 
to seek repose and health, a. d. 14, in the seventy-sixth year 
of his age. 

Verse 21. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom 
they shall not give the honor of the kingdom : but he shall come in 
peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 

Tiberius Caesar next appeared after Augustus Caesar on the 
Roman throne. He was raised to the consulate in his twenty- 
eighth year. It is recorded that as Augustus was about to 
nominate his successor, his wife, Livia, besought him to nomi- 
nate Tiberius (her son by a former husband) ; but the emperor 
said, " Your son is too vile to wear the purple of Rome ; " and 
the nomination was given to Agrippa, a very virtuous and 
much-respected Roman citizen. But the prophecy had fore- 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 21. 



241 



seen that a vile person should succeed Augustus. Agrippa 
died; and Augustus was again under the necessity of choosing 
a successor. Livia renewed her intercessions for Tiberius; and 
Augustus, weakened by age and sickness, was more easily 
nattered, and finally consented to nominate, as his colleague 
and successor, that "vile" young man. But the citizens 
never gave him the love, respect, and 4 4 honor of the king- 
dom," due to an upright and faithful sovereign. 

How clear a fulfilment is this of the prediction that they 
should not give him the honor of the kingdom. But he was to 
come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. A 
paragraph from the Encyclopedia Americana shows how this 
was fulfilled : — 

" During the remainder of the life of Augustus, he [Tibe- 
rius] behaved with great prudence and ability, concluding a 
war with the Germans in such a manner as to merit a triumph. 
After the defeat of Yarus and his legions, he was sent to check 
the progress of the victorious Germans, and acted in that war 
with equal spirit and prudence. On the death of Augustus, he 
succeeded, without opposition, to the sovereignty of the em- 
pire; which, however, with his characteristic dissimulation, he 
affected to decline, until repeatedly solicited by the servile 
senate." 

Dissimulation on his part, flattery on the part of the servile 
senate, and a possession of the kingdom without opposition — 
such were the circumstances attending his accession to the 
throne, and such were the circumstances for which the proph- 
ecy called. 

The person brought to view in the text is called 4 4 a vile 
person." Was such the character sustained by Tiberius ? Let 
another paragraph from the Encyclopedia answer: — 

4 4 Tacitus records the events of this reign, including the 
suspicious death of Germanicus, the detestable administration 
of Sejanus, the poisoning of Drusus, with all the extraordinary 
mixture of tyranny with occasional wisdom and good sense 
which distinguished the conduct of Tiberius, until his infamous 
and dissolute retirement, a. d. 26, to the isle of Caprese, in the 

16 



242 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



bay of Naples, never to return to Rome. On the death of 
Livia, a. d. 29, the only restraint upon his actions and those 
of the detestable Sejanus, was removed, and the destruction of 
the widow and family of Germanicus followed . At length the 
infamous favorite extending his views to the empire itself, Ti- 
berius, informed of his machinations, prepared to encounter 
him with his favorite weapon, dissimulation. Although fully 
resolved upon his destruction, he accumulated honors upon him, 
declared him his partner in the consulate, and 3 after long play- 
ing with his credulity, and that of the senate, who thought him 
in greater favor than ever, he artfully prepared for his arrest. 
Sejanus fell deservedly and unpitied; but many innocent per- 
sons shared in his destruction, in consequence of the suspicion 
and cruelty of Tiberius, which now exceeded all limits. The 
remainder of the reign of this tyrant is little more than a dis- 
gusting narrative of servility on the one hand, and of despotic 
ferocity on the other. That he himself endured as much mis- 
ery as he inflicted, is evident from the following commence- 
ment of one of his letters to the senate : ' What I shall write 
to you, conscript fathers, or what I shall not write, or why I 
should write at all, may the gods and goddesses plague me 
more than I feel daily that they are doing, if I can tell. ' 
' What mental torture, ' observes Tacitus, in reference to this 
passage, ' which could extort such a confession ! 5 " 

' £ Seneca remarks of Tiberius that he was never intoxicated 
but once in his life; for he continued in a state of perpetual 
intoxication from the time he gave himself to drinking, to the 
last moment of his life." 

Tyranny, hypocrisy, debauchery, and uninterrupted intoxi- 
cation—if these traits and practices show a man to be vile, 
Tiberius exhibited that character in disgusting perfection. 

Terse 22. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown 
from before him, and shall be broken ; yea, also the prince of the cove- 
nant. 

Bishop Newton presents the following reading as agreeing 
better with the original : ' ' And the . arms of the overflower 
shall be overflown from before him, and shall be broken.' ' 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 22. 



243 



'The expressions signify revolution and violence; and in fulfil- 
ment we should look for the arms of Tiberius, the overflower, 
to be overflown, or, in other words, for him to suffer a violent 
death. To show how this was accomplished, we again have 
recourse to the .Encyclopedia Americana, art. Tiberius : — ■ 

< ' Acting the hypocrite to the last, he disguised his increas- 
ing debility as much as he was able, even affecting to join in 
the sports and exercises of the soldiers of his guard. At 
length, leaving his favorite island, the scene of the most dis- 
gusting debaucheries, he stopped at a country house near the 
promontory of Micenum, where, on the 16th of March, 37, he 
sunk into a lethargy, in which he appeared dead; and Caligula 
was preparing with a numerous escort to take possession of the 
empire, when his sudden revival threw them into consterna- 
tion. At this critical instant, Macro, the pretorian prefect, 
caused him to be suffocated with pillows. Thus expired the 
emperor Tiberius, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and 
twenty-third of his reign, universally execrated." 

' ' The prince of the covenant ' ' unquestionably refers to 
Jesus Christ, ' ' the Messiah the Prince, ' ' who was to ' ' con- 
firm the covenant" one week with his people. Dan. 9: 
25-27. The prophet, having taken us down to the death of 
Tiberius, now mentions incidentally an event to transpire in his ■ 
reign, so important that it should not be passed over; namely, 
the cutting off of the Prince of the covenant, or, in other 
words, the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to the 
prophecy, this took place in the reign of Tiberius. Luke 
informs us (3 : 1-3) that in the fifteenth year of the reign of 
Tiberius Caesar John the Baptist commenced his ministry. 
The reign of Tiberius is to be reckoned, according to Prideaux, 
Dr. Hales, Lardner, and others, from his elevation to the 
throne to reign jointly with Augustus, his step-father, in Au- 
gust, a. d. 12. His fifteenth year would therefore be from 
August, a. d. 26, to August, a. d. 27. Christ was six months 
younger than John, and is supposed to have commenced his 
ministry six months later, botlf, according to the law of the 
priesthood, entering upon their work when they were thirty 



244 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



years of age. If John commenced in the spring, in the latter 
portion of Tiberius 's fifteenth year, it would bring the com- 
mencement of Christ's ministry in the autumn of a. d. 27; and 
right here the best authorities place the baptism of Christ, it 
being the exact point where the 483 years from b. c. 457, 
which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince, terminated; 
and Christ went forth proclaiming that the time was fulfilled. 
From this point we go forward three years and a half to find 
the date of the crucifixion; for Christ attended but four Pass- 
overs, and was crucified at the last one. Three and a half 
years from the autumn of a. d. 27, bring us to the spring of 
a. d. 31. The death of Tiberius is placed but six years later, 
in a. d. 37. (See on chapter 9 : 25-27.) 

Vekse 23. And after the league made with him he shall work de-~ 
. ceitfully : for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small- 
people. 

The "him " with whom the league here spoken of is made, 
must be the same power which has been the subject of the 
prophecy from the 14th verse; and that this is the Roman 
power is shown beyond controversy in the fulfilment of the 
prophecy in three individuals, as already noticed, who succes- 
sively ruled over the Roman empire; namely, Julius, Augus- 
tus, and Tiberius Caasar. The first, on returning to the fort of 
his own land in triumph, stumbled and fell, and was not found. 
Verse 19. The second was a raiser of taxes; and he reigned 
in the glory of the kingdom, and died neither in anger nor in- 
battle, but peacefully in his own bed. Verse 20. The third 
was a dissembler, and one of the vilest of characters. He 
entered upon the kingdom peaceably, but both his reign and 
life were ended by violence. And in his reign the Prince of 
the covenant, Jesus of Nazareth, was put to death upon the 
cross. Verses 21, 22. Christ can never be broken or put to 
death again; hence in no other government, and at no other 
time, can we find a fulfilment of these events. Some attempt 
to apply these verses to Antiociius, and make one of the Jew- 
ish high priests the prince of the covenant, though they are 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 23. 



245 



never called such. This is the same kind of reasoning which 
endeavors to make the reign of Antiochus a fulfilment of the 
little horn of Daniel 8; and it is offered for the same purpose; 
namely, to break the great chain of evidence by which it is 
shown that the Advent doctrine is the doctrine of the Bible, 
and that Christ is now at the door. But the evidence cannot 
be overthrown; the chain cannot be broken. 

Having taken us down through the secular events of the 
empire to the end of the seventy weeks, the prophet, in verse 
.23, takes us back to the time when the Romans became directly 
connected with the people of God by the Jewish league, b. c. 
161; from which point we are then taken down in a direct line 
of events to the final triumph of the church, and the setting up 
of God's everlasting kingdom. The Jews, being grievously 
oppressed by the Syrian kings, sent an embassy to Rome, to 
solicit the aid of the Romans, and to join themselves in "a 
league of amity and confederacy with them." 1 Mac. 8 ; 
Prideaux, II, 166; Josephus's Antiquities, book 12, chap. 10, 
sec. 6. The Romans listened to the request of the Jews, and 
granted them a decree, couched in these words : — 

" The decree of the senate concerning a league of assistance 
;and friendship with the nation of the Jews. It shall not be 
lawful for any that are subject to the Romans, to make war 
with the nation of the Jews, nor to assist those that do so, 
either by sending them corn, or ships, or money; and if any 
attack be made upon the Jews, the Romans shall assist them 
as far as they are able ; and again, if any attack be made upon 
the Romans, the Jews shall assist them. And if the Jews 
have a mind to add to, or to take from, this league of assist- 
ance, that shall be done with the common consent of the Ro- 
mans. And whatever addition shall thus be made, it shall be 
of force." ' 6 This decree," says Josephus, " was written by 
Eupolemus, the son of John, and by Jason, the son of Eleazer, 
when Judas was high priest of the nation, and Simon, his 
brother, was general of the army. And this was the first 
league that the Romans made with the Jews, and was managed 
after this manner." 



246 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



At this time the Romans were a small people, and began to 
work deceitfully, or with cunning, as the word signifies. And 
from this point they rose by a steady and rapid ascent to the 
hight of power which they afterward attained. 

Verse 24. He shall enter peacefully even upon the fattest places of 
the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor 
his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, 
and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds, 
even for a time. 

The usual manner in which nations had, before the days of 
Home, entered upon valuable provinces and rich territory, was 
by war and conquest. Rome was now to do what had not 
been done by the fathers or the fathers' fathers ; namely, re- 
ceive these acquisitions through peaceful means. The custom, 
before unheard of, was now inaugurated, of kings' leaving by 
- legacy their kingdoms to the Romans. Rome came into pos- 
session of large provinces in this manner. 

And those who thus came under the dominion of Rome de- 
rived no small advantage therefrom. They were treated with 
kindness and leniency. It was like having the prey and spoil 
distributed among them. They were protected from their ene- 
mies, and rested in peace and safety under the segis of the 
Roman power. 

To the latter portion of this verse, Bishop Newton gives the 
idea of forecasting devices from strongholds, instead of against 
them. This the Romans did from the strong fortress of their 
seven-hilled city. 6 ' Even for a time ; ' ' doubtless a prophetic 
time, 360 years. From what point are these years to be 
dated ? Probably from the event brought to view in the fol- 
lowing verse. 

Verse 25. And he shall stir up his power and his couarge against 
the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall 
be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall 
not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. 

By verses 23 and 24, we are brought down this side of the 
league between the Jews and the Romans, b. c. 161, to the 
time when Rome had acquired universal dominion. The verse 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 24, 25. 



247 



now before us brings to view a vigorous campaign against the 
king of the south, Egypt, and the occurrence of a notable 
battle between great and mighty armies. Did such events as 
these transpire in the history of Rome about this time ? — They 
did. The war was the war between Egypt and Rome ; and 
the battle was the battle of Actium. Let us take a brief view 
of the circumstances that led to this conflict. 

Mark Antony, Augustus Caesar, and Lepidus constituted 
the Triumvirate which had sworn to avenge the death of Julius 
Caesar. This Antony became the brother-in-law of Augustus 
by marrying his sister, Octavia. Antony was sent into Egypt 
on government business, but fell a victim to the arts and 
charms of Cleopatra, Egypt's dissolute queen. So strong was 
the passion he conceived for her, that he finally espoused 
the Egyptian interests, rejected his wife, Octavia, to please 
Cleopatra, bestowed province after province upon the latter to 
gratify her avarice, celebrated a triumph at Alexandria instead 
of Rome, and otherwise so affronted the Roman people that 
Augustus had no difficulty in leading them to engage heartily 
in a war against this enemy of their country. The war was 
ostensibly against Egypt and Cleopatra ; but it was really 
against Antony, who now stood at the head of Egyptian affairs. 
And the true cause of their controversy was, says Prideaux, 
that neither of them could be content with only half of the 
Roman empire ; for Lepidus having been deposed from the 
Triumvirate, it now lay between them, and each being deter- 
mined to possess the whole, they cast the die of war for its 
possession. 

Antony assembled his fleet at Samos. Five hundred ships 
of war, of extraordinary size and structure, having several 
decks one above another, with towers upon the head and stern, 
made an imposing and formidable array. These ships carried 
two hundred thousand foot, and twelve thousand horse. The 
kings of Libya, Cilicia, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Comagena, 
and Thrace, were there in person; and those of Pontus, Judea, 
Lycaonia, Galatia, and Media, had sent their troops. A more 
splendid and gorgeous military spectacle than this fleet of 



248 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



battle ships, as they spread their sails, and moved out upon 
the bosom of the sea, the world has rarely seen. Surpassing 
all in magnificence came the galley of Cleopatra, floating like 
a palace of gold beneath a cloud of purple sails. Its flags and 
streamers fluttered in the wind, and trumpets and other instru- 
ments of war, made the heavens resound with notes of joy and 
triumph. Antony followed close after in a galley of almost 
equal magnificence. And the giddy queen, intoxicated with 
the sight of the warlike array, short-sighted and vainglorious, 
at the head of her infamous troop of eunuchs, foolishly threat- 
ened the Roman capital with approaching ruin. 

Caesar Augustus, on the other hand, displayed less pomp 
but more utility. He had but half as many ships as Antony, 
and only eighty thousand foot. But all his troops were chosen 
men, and on board his fleet were none but experienced seamen; 
whereas Antony, not finding mariners sufficient, had been 
obliged to man his vessels with artisans of every class, men 
inexperienced, and better calculated to cause trouble than to do 
real service in time of battle. The season being far consumed 
in these preparations, Caesar made his rendezvous at Brundu- 
sium, and Antony at Corcyra, till the following year. 

As soon as the season permitted, both armies were put in 
motion on both sea and land. The fleets at length entered the 
Ambracian Gulf in Epirus, and the land forces were drawn up 
on either shore in plain view. Antony's most experienced 
generals advised him not to hazard a battle by sea with his 
inexperienced mariners, but to send Cleopatra back to Egypt, 
and hasten at once into Thrace or Macedonia, and trust the 
issue to his land forces, who were composed of veteran troops. 
But he, illustrating the old adage, Quern Deus vult perdere, 
prius dementat (whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes 
mad), infatuated by Cleopatra, seemed only desirous of pleas- 
ing her ; and she, trusting to appearances only, deemed her 
fleet invincible, and advised immediate action. 

The battle was fought Sept. 2, b. c. 31, at the mouth of 
the gulf of Ambracia, near the city of Actium. The world 
was the stake for which these stern warriors, Antony and 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 26, 27. 



249 



Caesar, now played. The contest, long doubtful, was at length 
decided by the course which Cleopatra pursued; for she, 
frightened at the din of battle, took to flight when there was 
no danger, and drew after her the whole Egyptian fleet. 
Antony, beholding this movement, and lost to everything but 
his blind passion for her, precipitately followed, and yielded a 
victory to Caesar, which, had his Egyptian forces proved true 
to him, and had he proved true to his own manhood, he might 
have gained. 

This battle doubtless marks the commencement of the 
" time " mentioned in verse 24. And as during this "time" 
devices were to be forecast from the stronghold, or Rome, we 
should conclude that at the end of that period western suprem- 
acy would cease, or such a change take place in the empire 
that that city would no longer be considered the seat of gov- 
ernment. From b. c. 31, a prophetic time, or 360 years, 
would bring us to a. d. 330. And it hence becomes a note- 
worthy fact that the seat of empire was removed from Rome to 
Constantinople by Constantine the Great in that very year. 
(See Encyclopedia Americana, art. Constantinople.) 

Verse 26. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall de- 
stroy him, and his army shall overflow : and many shall fall down slain. 

The cause of Antony's overthrow was the desertion of his 
allies and friends, those that fed of the portion of his meat. 
First, Cleopatra, as already described, suddenly withdrew 
from the battle, taking sixty ships of the line with her. Sec- 
ondly, the land army, disgusted with the infatuation of Antony, 
went over to Caesar, who received them with open arms. 
Thirdly, when Antony arrived at Libya, he found that the 
forces which he had there left under Scarpus to guard the 
frontier, had declared for Caesar. Fourthly, being followed by 
Caesar into Egypt, he was betrayed by Cleopatra, and his 
forces surrendered to Caesar. Hereupon, in rage and despair, 
he took his own life. 

Verse 27. And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and 
they shall speak lies at one table ; but it shall not prosper : for yet the 
end shall be at the time appointed. 



250 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Antony and Caesar were formerly in alliance. Yet under 
the garb of friendship, they were both aspiring and intriguing 
for universal dominion. Their protestations of deference to, 
and friendship for, each other, were the utterances of hypo- 
crites. They spoke lies at one table. Octavia, the wife of 
Antony and sister of Caesar, declared to the people of Rome at 
the time Antony divorced her, that she had consented to marry 
him solely with the hope that it would prove a pledge of union 
between Caesar and Antony. But that counsel did not prosper. 
The rupture came; and in the conflict that ensued, Caesar 
came off entirely victorious. 

Yerse 28. Then shall he return into his land with great riches,; and 
his heart shall be against the holy covenant ; and he shall do exploit", 
and return \o his own land. 

Two returnings from foreign conquest are here brought to 
view ; the first, after the events narrated in verses 26 and 27, 
and the second, after this power had had indignation against 
the holy covenant, and had performed exploits. The first was 
fulfilled in the return of Caesar after his expedition against 
Egypt and Antony. He returned to Rome with abundant 
honors and riches; for, says Prideaux (II, 380), "At this time 
such vast riches were brought to Rome from Egypt on the re- 
ducing of that country, and the return of Octavianus [Caesar] 
and his army from thence, that the value of money fell one 
half, and the price of provisions and all vendible wares was 
doubled thereon." Caesar celebrated his victories in a three- 
days' triumph, — a triumph which Cleopatra herself would 
have graced, as one of the royal captives, had she not art- 
fully caused herself to be bitten by the fatal asp. 

The next great enterprise of the Romans after the over- 
throw of Egypt, was the expedition against Judea, and the 
capture and destruction of Jerusalem. The h*oly covenant is 
doubtless the covenant which God has maintained with his peo- 
ple, under different forms, in different ages of the world, that 
is, with all believers in him. ■ The Jews rejected Christ ; and, 
according to the prophecy that -all who would not hear that 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 28. 



251 



prophet should be cut off, they were destroyed out of their own 
land, and scattered to every nation under heaven. And while 
Jews and Christians alike suffered under the oppressive hands 
of the Romans, it was doubtless in the reduction of Judea 
especially, that the exploits mentioned in the text were ex- 
hibited. 

Under Vespasian the Romans invaded Judea, and took the 
cities of Galilee, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, where 
Christ had been rejected. They destroyed the inhabitants, 
and left nothing but ruin and desolation. Titus besieged Jeru- 
salem. He drew a trench around it, according to the predic- 
tion of the Saviour. A terrible famine ensued, the equal of 
which the world has, perhaps, at no other time witnessed. 
Moses had predicted that in the terrible calamities to come 
upon the Jews if they departed from God, even the tender and 
delicate woman should eat her own children in the straitness of 
the siege wherewith their enemies should distress them. Un- 
der the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, a literal fulfilment of this 
prediction occurred; and he, hearing of the inhuman deed, but 
forgetting that he was the one who was driving them to such 
direful extremities, swore the eternal extirpation of the ac- 
cursed city and people. 

Jerusalem fell in a. d. TO. As an honor to himself, the 
Roman commander had determined to save the temple; but 
the Lord had said that there should not remain one stone upon 
another which should not be thrown down. A Roman soldier 
seized a brand of fire, and, climbing upon the shoulders of his 
comrades, thrust it into one of the windows of the beautiful 
structure. It was soon in the arms of the devouring element. 
The frantic efforts of the Jews to extinguish the flames were 
seconded by Titus himself, but all in vain. Seeing that the 
temple must perish, Titus rushed in, and bore away the golden 
candlestick, the table of show-bread, and the volume of the 
law, wrapped in golden tissue. The candlestick was afterward 
deposited in Vespasian's Temple to Peace, and copied on the 
triumphal arch of Titus, where its mutilated image is yet to 
be seen. . . 



252 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



The siege of Jerusalem lasted five months. In that siege 
eleven hundred thousand Jews perished, and ninety-seven 
thousand were taken prisoners. The city was so amazingly 
strong that Titus exclaimed, when viewing the ruins, 6 1 We 
have fought with the assistance of God;" but it was com- 
pletely leveled, and the foundations of the temple were plowed 
up by Tarentius Rufus. The duration of the whole war was 
seven years, and one million four hundred and sixty-two thou- 
sand (1,462,000) persons are said to have fallen victims to its 
awful horrors. 

Thus this power performed great exploits, and again re- 
turned to his own land. 

Verse 29. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward 
the south ; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 

The time appointed is probably the prophetic time of verse 
24, which has been previously mentioned. It closed, as already 
shown, in a. d. 330, at which time this power was to return 
and come again toward the south, but not as on the former oc- 
casion, when it went to Egypt, nor as the latter, when it went 
to Judea. Those were expeditions which resulted in conquest 
and glory. This one led to demoralization and ruin. The 
removal of the seat of empire to Constantinople was the signal 
for the downfall of the empire. Rome then lost its prestige. 
The western division was exposed to the incursions of foreign 
enemies. On the death of Constantine, the Roman empire 
was divided into three parts, between his three sons, Con- 
stantius, Constantine II, and Constans. Constantine II and 
Constans quarreled, and Constans, being victor, gained the 
supremacy of the whole "West. He was soon slain by one of 
his commanders, who, in turn, was shortly after defeated by 
the surviving emperor, and in despair ended his own days. 
a. d. 353. The barbarians of the North now began then* in- 
cursions, and extended their conquests till the imperial power 
of the West expired in a. d. tt76. 

This was indeed different from the two former movements 
brought to view hi the prophecy; and to this the fatal step 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 29, 30. 



253 



of removing the seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople 
directly led. 

Verse 30. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him : there- 
fore he shall be grieved, and. return, and have indignation against the 
holy covenant : so shall he do : he shall even return, and have intelli- 
gence with them that forsake the holy covenant. 

The prophetic narrative still has reference to the power 
which has been the subject of the prophecy from the sixteenth 
verse; namely, Home. What were the ships of Chittim that 
came against this power, and when was this movement made? 
What country or power is meant by Chittim ? Dr. A. Clarke, 
on Isa. 23 : 1, has this note : " From the land of Chittim, it is 
revealed to them. The news of the destruction of Tyre by 
Nebuchadnezzar, is said to be brought to them from Chittim, 
the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean ; for the Tyrians, 
says Jerome, on verse 6, when they saw they had no other 
means of escape, fled in their ships, and took refuge in Car- 
thage, and in the islands of the Ionian and ^Egean Seas. So 
also Jochri on the same place." Kitto gives the same locality 
to Chittim; namely, the coast and islands of the Mediterranean; 
and the mind is carried by the testimony of Jerome to a definite 
and celebrated city situated in that land; that is Carthage. 

Was ever a naval warfare, with Carthage as a base of 
operations, waged against the Eoman empire ? We have but 
to think of the terrible onslaught of the Vandals upon Rome 
under the fierce Genseric, to answer readily in the affirmative. 
Sallying every spring from the port of Carthage at the head 
of his numerous and well-disciplined naval forces, he spread 
consternation through all the maritime provinces of the empire. 
That this is the work brought to view is further evident when 
we consider that we are brought down in the prophecy to this 
very time. In verse 29, the transfer of empire to Constan- 
tinople we understand to be mentioned. Following in due 
* course of time, as the next remarkable revolution, came the 
irruptions of the barbarians of the North, prominent among 
which was the Yandal war already mentioned. The years 
a. d. 428— 4:6 S mark the career of Genseric. 



254 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



u He shall be grieved and return." This may have refer- 
ence to the desperate efforts which were made to dispossess 
Genseric of the sovereignty of the seas, the first by Majorian, 
the second by Leo, both of which proved to be utter failures; 
and Rome was obliged to submit to the humiliation of seeing 
its provinces ravaged, and its ' ' eternal city 5 ' pillaged by the 
enemy. (See on Rev. 8 : 8.) 

"Indignation against the covenant;" that is, the Holy 
Scriptures, the book of the covenant. A revolution of this 
nature was accomplished in Rome. The Heruli, Goths, and 
"Vandals, who conquered Rome, embraced the Arian faith, and 
became enemies of the Catholic Church. It was especially for 
the purpose of exterminating this heresy that Justinian decreed 
the pope to be the head of the church and the corrector of 
heretics. The Bible soon came to be regarded as a dangerous 
book that should not be read by the common people, but all 
questions in dispute were to be submitted to the pope. Thus 
was indignity heaped upon God's word. And the emperors of 
Rome, the eastern division of which still continued, had intelli- 
gence, or connived with the Church of Rome, which had for- 
saken the covenant, and constituted the great apostasy, for the 
purpose of putting down " heresy." The man of sin was 
raised to his presumptuous throne by the defeat of the Arian 
Goths, who then held possession of Rome, in a. d. 538. 

Verse 31. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute 
the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and 
they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 

The power of the empire was committed to the carrying on 
of the work before mentioned. u And they shall pollute the 
sanctuary of strength, ' ' or Rome. If this applies to the barba- 
rians, it was literally fulfilled; for Rome was sacked by the 
Goths, and Vandals, and the imperial power of the West 
ceased through the conquest of Rome by Odoacer. Or if it 
refers to those rulers of the empire who were working in behalf 
of the papacy against the pagan and all other opposing relig- 
ions, it would signify the removal of the seat of empire from 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 31. 



255 



Rome to Constantinople, which contributed its measure of 
influence to the downfall of Rome. The passage would then 
be parallel to Dan. 8 : 11 and Rev, 13 : 2. 

fi And they shall take away the daily sacrifice." It was 
shown, on Dan„ 8 : 13, that sacrifice is a word erroneously 
supplied; that it should be desolation; and that the expression 
denotes a desolating power, of which the abomination of deso- 
lation is but the counterpart, and to which it succeeds in point 
of time. The " daily " desolation was paganism, the ''abomina- 
tion of desolation ' ' is the papacy. But it may be asked how this 
can be the papacy ; since Christ spoke of it in connection with the 
destruction of Jerusalem. And the answer is, Christ evidently 
referred to the ninth of Daniel, which is a prediction of the 
destruction of Jerusalem, and not to this verse of chapter 11, 
which does not refer to that event. Daniel, in the ninth chap- 
ter, speaks of desolations and abominations, plural. More 
than one abomination, therefore, treads down the church; that 
is, so far as the church is concerned, both paganism and the 
papacy are abominations,, But as distinguished from each 
other, the language is restricted, and one is the " daily " 
desolation, and the other is pre-eminently the transgression 
or ' 1 abomination ■ ' of desolation. 

How was the daily, or paganism, taken away \ As this is 
spoken of in connection with the placing or setting up of the 
abomination of desolation, or the papacy, it must denote, not 
merely the nominal change of the religion of the empire from 
paganism to Christianity, as on the conversion, so-called, of 
Constantine, but such an eradication of paganism from all the 
elements of the empire, that the way would be all open for the 
papal abomination to arise and assert its arrogant claims. 
Such a revolution as this, plainly defined, was accomplished; 
but not for nearly two hundred years after the death of Con- 
stantine. 

As we approach the year a. d. 508, we behold a grand 
crisis ripening between Catholicism and the pagan influences 
still existing in the empire. Up to the time of the conversion 
of Clovis, king of France, a. d c 496, the French and other 



256 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



nations of Western Rome were pagan; but subsequently to 
that event, the efforts to convert idolaters to Romanism were 
crowned with great success. The conversion of Clovis is said 
to have been the occasion of bestowing upon the French mon- 
arch the titles of " Most Christian Majesty," and ''Eldest Son 
of the Church." Between that time and a. d. 508, by alli- 
ances, capitulations, and conquests, the Arborici, the Roman 
garrisons in the West, Brittany, the Burgundians, and the 
Yisigoths, were brought into subjection. 

From the time when these successes were fully accom- 
plished, namely, 508, the papacy was triumphant so far as 
paganism was concerned; for though the latter doubtless re- 
tarded the progress of the Catholic faith, yet it had not the 
power, if it had the disposition, to suppress the faith, and 
hinder the encroachments of the Roman pontiff. When the 
- prominent powers of Europe gave up their attachment to pa- 
ganism, it was only to perpetuate its abominations in another 
form; for Christianity, as exhibited in the Catholic Church, 
was, and is, only paganism baptized. 

In England, Arthur, the first Christian king, founded the 
Christian worship on the ruins of the pagan. Rapin ^book. 2, 
p. 124), who claims to be exact in the chronology of events, 
states that he was elected monarch of Britain in 508. 

The condition of the See of Rome was also peculiar at this 
time. In 498, Symmachus ascended the pontifical throne as a 
recent convert from paganism. He reigned to a. d. 514. He 
found his way to the papal chair, says Du Pin, by striving 
with his competitor even unto blood. He received adulation 
as the successor of St. Peter, and struck the key-note of papal 
assumption by presuming to excommunicate the emperor An- 
astasius. The most servile flatterers of the pope now began to 
maintain that he was constituted judge in the place of God, 
and that he was the vicegerent of the Most High. 

Such was the direction in which events were tending in the 
West. What posture did affairs at the same time assume in 
the East ? A strong papal party now existed in all parts of the 
empire. The adherents of this cause in Constantinople, en- 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 31. 



257 



couraged by the success of their brethren in the West, deemed 
it safe to commence open hostilities in behalf of their master at 
Rome. In 508 their partizan zeal culminated in a whirlwind of 
fanaticism and civil war, which swept in fire and blood through 
the streets of the eastern capital. Gibbon, under the years SOS- 
SIS, speaking of the commotions in Constantinople, says : — 

6 ' The statues of the emperor were broken, and his person 
was concealed in a suburb, till, at the end of three days, he 
dared to implore the mercy of his subjects. Without his dia- 
dem, and in the posture of a suppliant, Anastasius appeared 
on the throne of the circus. The Catholics, before his face, 
rehearsed the genuine Trisagion; they exulted in the offer 
which he proclaimed by the voice of a herald of abdicating the 
purple; they listened to the admonition that, since all could 
not reign, they should previously agree in the choice of a sov- 
ereign ; and they accepted the blood of two unpopular ministers, 
whom their master, without hesitation, condemned to the lions. 
These furious but transient seditions were encouraged by the 
success of Yitalian, who, with an army of Huns and Bulga- 
rians, for the most part idolaters, declared himself the cham- 
pion of the Catholic faith. In this pious rebellion he depopu- 
lated Thrace, besieged Constantinople, exterminated sixty-five 
thousand of his fellow Christians, till he obtained the recall of 
the bishops, the satisfaction of the pope, and the establishment 
of the Council of Chalcedon, an orthodox treaty, reluctantly 
signed by the dying Anastasius, and more faithfully performed 
by the uncle of Justinian. And such was the event of the first 
of the religious wars which have been waged in the name, and 
by the disciples, of the God of Peace." — Decline and JFhll, 
Vol. IV, p. 526. 

Let it be marked that in this year, 508, paganism had so 
far declined, and Catholicism had so far relatively increased in 
strength, that the Catholic Church for the first time waged a 
successful war against both the civil authority of the empire 
and the church of the East, which had for the most part em- 
braced the Monophysite doctrine. The extermination of 65,000 
heretics was the result. 
17 



258 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



With the following extract, we close the testimony on this 
point : — 

" We now invite our modern Gamaliels to take a position 
with us in the place of the sanctuary of paganism (since claimed 
as the ' patrimony of St. Peter ') in 508. We look a few years 
into the past, and the rude paganism of the northern barbarians 
is pouring down upon the nominally Christian empire of West- 
ern Rome, triumphing everywhere, and its triumphs everywhere 
distinguished by the most savage cruelty. . . . The empire 
falls, and is broken into fragments. One by one the lords 
and rulers of these fragments abandon their paganism, and 
profess the Christian faith. In religion the conquerors are 
yielding to the conquered. But still paganism is triumphant. 
Among its supporters there is one stern and successful con- 
queror (Clovis) ; but soon he also bows before the power of the 
-new faith, and becomes its champion. He is still triumphant, 
but, as a hero and conqueror, reaches the zenith at the point 
we occupy, a. d. 508. 

t£ In or near the same year, the last important subdivision 
of the fallen empire is publicly, and by the coronation of its 
triumphant 4 monarch, ' Christianized. 

tc The pontiff for the period on which we stand, is a recently 
converted pagan. The bloody contest which placed him in the 
chair was decided by the interposition of an Arian king. He 
is bowed to and saluted as filling ' the place of God on earth.' 
The senate is so far under his power that on suspicion that the 
interests of the See of Rome demand it, they excommunicate the 
emperor. . . . In 508 the mine is sprung beneath the throne 
of the Eastern empire. The result of the confusion and strife 
it occasions is the humiliation of its rightful lord, JSFow the 
question is, At what time was paganism so far suppressed as to 
make room for its substitute and successor, the papal abomina- 
tion f When was this abomination placed in a position to start 
on its career of blasphemy and blood ? Is there any other date 
for its being 'placed, 1 or c set up,' in the room of paganism but 
508 f If the mysterious enchantress has not now brought all 
her victims within her power, she has taken her position, and 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 31. 



259 



some have yielded to the fascination. The others are at length 
subdued; 4 and kings, and peoples, and multitudes, and na- 
tions, and tongues ' are brought under the spell which prepares 
them, even while < drunken with the blood of the martyrs of 
Jesus, ' to 4 think they are doing God service, ' and to fancy 
themselves the exclusive favorites of Heaven while becoming 
an easier and richer prey for the damnation of hell." — Second 
Advent Manual, pp. 79-81. 

From these evidences we think it clear that the daily, or 
paganism, was taken away in a. d. 508. This was prepara- 
tory to the setting up, or establishment, of the papacy, which 
was a separate and subsequent event. Of this the prophetic 
narrative now leads us to speak. 

" And they shall place the abomination that maketh deso- 
late" Having shown quite fully what constituted the taking 
away of the daily, or paganism, we now inquire, When was 
the abomination that maketh desolate, or the papacy, placed, 
or set up ? The little horn that had eyes like the eyes of man 
was not slow to see when the way was open for his advance- 
ment and elevation. From the year 508 his progress toward 
universal supremacy was without a parallel. 

When Justinian was about to commence the Vandal war, 
a. d. 533, an enterprise of no small magnitude and difficulty, 
he wished to secure the influence of the bishop of Rome, who 
had then attained a position in which his opinion had great 
weight throughout a large portion of Christendom. Justinian 
therefore took it upon himself to decide the contest which had 
long existed between the sees of Rome and Constantinople as 
to which should have the precedency, by giving the preference 
to Rome, and declaring, in the fullest and most unequivocal 
terms, that the bishop of that city should be chief of the 
whole ecclesiastical body of the empire. A work on the 
Apocalypse, by Rev. George Croly, of England, published in 
1827, presents a detailed account of the events by which the 
supremacy of the pope of Rome was secured. He gives the 
following as the terms in which the letter of Justinian was 
expressed : — 



260 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



' ' Justinian, pious, fortunate, renowned, triumphant, em- 
peror, consul, etc., to John, the most holy archbishop of our 
city of Rome, and patriarch. 

' < Rendering honor to the apostolic chair and to your holi- 
ness, as has been always, and is, our wish, and honoring your 
blessedness as a father, we have hastened to bring to the 
knowledge of your holiness all matters relating to the state of 
the churches; it having been at all times our great desire to 
preserve the unity of your apostolic chair, and the constitution 
of the holy churches of God, which has obtained hitherto, and 
still obtains. 

"Therefore we have made no delay in subjecting and 
uniting to your holiness all the priests of the whole East. . . . 
We cannot suffer that anything which relates to the state of 
the church, however manifest and unquestionable, should be 
moved without the knowledge of your holiness, who is the 
Head of all the Holt Churches ; for in all things, as we 
have already declared, we are anxious to increase the honor 
and authority of your apostolic chair." — Croly, pp. HJk 115. 

" The emperor's letter," continues Mr. Croly, "must have 
been sent before the 25th of March, 533; for in his letter of 
that date to Epiphanius, he speaks of its having been already 
despatched, and repeats his decision that all affairs touching 
the church shall be referred to the pope, ' head of all bishops, 
and the true and effective corrector of heretics. ' ' 5 

The pope, in his answer, returned the same month of the 
following year, 534, observes that among the virtues of Jus- 
tinian, " one shines as a star, — his reverence for the apostolic 
chair, to which he has subjected and united all the churches, 
it being truly the head of all." 

The 1 ' Novelise ' ' of the Justinian code give unanswerable 
proof of the authenticity of the title. The preamble of the 9th 
states that ' ' as the elder Rome was the founder of the laws, so 
was it not to be questioned that in her was the supremacy of 
the Pontificate." The 131st, on the ecclesiastical titles and 
privileges, chapter 2, states: "We therefore decree that the 
most holy pope of the elder Rome is the first of all the priest- 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 31. 



261 



hood, and that the most blessed archbishop of Constantinople, 
the new Rome, shall hold the second rank after the holy apos- 
tolic chair of the elder Rome." 

Toward the close of the sixth century, John of Constanti- 
nople denied the Roman supremacy, and assumed for himself 
the title of universal bishop; whereupon, Gregory the great, 
indignant at the usurpation, denounced John, and declared, 
with unconscious truth, that he who would assume the title of 
universal bishop was Antichrist. Phocas, in 606, suppressed 
the claim of the bishop of Constantinople, and vindicated that 
of the bishop of Rome. But Phocas was not the founder of 
papal supremacy. Says Croly, 4 4 That Phocas repressed the 
claim of the bishop of Constantinople is beyond a doubt. But 
the highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of 
Rome, spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the 
supremacy of Rome; they ascend to Justinian as the only 
legitimate source, and rightly date the title from the memo- 
rable year 533." Again he says : 44 On reference to Baronius, 
the established authority among the Roman Catholic annalists, 
I found the whole detail of Justiniair s grants of supremacy to 
the pope formally given. The entire transaction was of the 
most authentic and regular kind, and suitable to the impor- 
tance of the transfer." — Apocalypse, p. 8. 

Such were the circumstances attending the decree of Jus- 
tinian. But the provisions of this decree could not at once be 
carried into effect; for Rome and Italy were held by the Os- 
trogoths, who were Arians in faith, and strongly opposed to 
the religion of Justinian and the pope. It was therefore evi- 
dent that the Ostrogoths must be rooted out of Rome before 
the pope could exercise the power with which he had been 
clothed. To accomplish this object, the Italian war was com- 
menced in 534. The management of the campaign was en- 
trusted to Belisarius. On his approach toward Rome, several 
cities forsook Vitijes, their Gothic and heretical sovereign, and 
joined the armies of the Catholic emperor. The Goths, deci- 
ding to delay offensive operations till spring, allowed Belisarius 
to enter Rome without opposition. 4 4 The deputies of the pope 



262 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



and clergy, of the senate and people, invited the lieutenant of 
Justinian to accept their voluntary allegiance." 

Belisarius entered Koine Dec. 10, 536. But this was not 
an end of the struggle; for the Goths, rallying their forces, re- 
solved to dispute his possession of the city by a regular siege. 
They commenced in March, 537. Belisarius feared despair 
and treachery on the part of the people. Several senators, and 
Pope Sylverius, on proof or suspicion of treason, were sent 
into exile. The emperor commanded the clergy to elect a new 
bishop. After solemnly invoking the Holy Ghost, says Gib- 
bon, they elected the deacon Yigilius, who, by a bribe of two 
hundred pounds of gold, had purchased the honor. 

The whole nation of the Ostrogoths had been assembled for 
the siege of Rome; but success did not attend their efforts. 
Their hosts melted away in frequent and bloody combats under 
the city walls ; and the year and nine days during which the 
siege lasted, witnessed almost the entire consumption of the 
whole nation. In the month of March, 538, dangers begin- 
ning to threaten them from other quarters, they raised the 
siege, burned their tents, and retired in tumult and confusion 
from the city, with numbers scarcely sufficient to preserve 
their existence as a nation or their identity as a people. 

Thus the Gothic horn, the last of the three, was plucked up 
before the little horn of Daniel 7. Nothing now stood in the 
way of the pope to prevent his exercising the power conferred 
upon him by Justinian five years before. The saints, times, 
and laws were now in his hands, not in purpose only, but in 
fact. And this must therefore be taken as the year when this 
abomination was placed, or set up, and as the point from 
which to date the predicted 1260 years of its supremacy. 

Verse. 32. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he 
corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be 
strong, and do exploits. 

Those that forsake the covenant, the holy Scriptures, and 
think more of the decrees of popes and the decisions of councils 
than they do of the word of God, — these shall he, the pope, 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 32-34. 



263 



corrupt by flatteries ; that is, lead them on in their partisan 
zeal for himself by the bestowment of wealth, position, and 
honors. 

At the same time a people shall exist who know their God; 
and these shall be strong, and do exploits. These were those 
who kept pure religion alive in the earth during the dark ages 
of papal tyranny, and performed marvelous acts of self-sacrifice 
and religious heroism in behalf of their faith. Prominent 
among these stand the Waldenses, Albigenses, Huguenots, etc. 

Verse 33. And they that understand among the people shall instruct 
many, yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and 
by spoil, many days. 

The long period of papal persecution against those who 
were struggling to maintain the truth and instruct their fellow 
men in ways of righteousness, is here brought to view. The 
number of the days during which they were thus to fall is 
given in Dan. 7: 25; 12: 7 ; Kev. 12 : 6, 14 ; 13 : 5. The pe- 
riod is called, " a time, times, and the dividing of time; " " a 
time, times, and a half; " "a thousand two hundred and three- 
score days;" and "forty and two months." It is the 1260 
years of papal supremacy. 

Verse 34. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little 
help, but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 

In Revelation 12, where this same papal persecution is 
brought to view, we read that the earth helped the woman by 
opening her mouth, and swallowing up the flood which the 
dragon cast out after her. The great Reformation by Luther 
and his co-workers furnished the help here foretold. The Ger- 
man states espoused the Protestant cause, protected the reform- 
ers, and restrained the work of persecution so furiously carried 
on by the papal church. But when they should be helped, and 
the cause begin to become popular, many were to cleave unto 
them with flatteries, or embrace the cause from unworthy 
motives, be insincere, hollow-hearted, and speak smooth and 
friendly words through a policy of self-interest. 



264 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Verse 35. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, 
and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end : be- 
cause it is yet for a time appointed. 

Though restrained, the spirit of persecution was not de- 
stroyed. It broke out wherever there was opportunity. Espe- 
cially was this the case in England. The religious state of 
that kingdom was fluctuating, it being sometimes under Prot- 
estant, and sometimes papal jurisdiction, according to the 
religion of the ruling house. The bloody Queen Mary was a 
mortal enemy to the Protestant cause, and multitudes fell vic- 
tims to her relentless persecutions. And this condition of 
affairs was to last more or less to the time of the end. The 
natural conclusion would be that when the time of the end 
should come, this power which the Church of Rome had pos- 
sessed to punish heretics, which had been the cause of so much 
persecution, and which had for a time been restrained, would 
now be taken entirely away; mid the conclusion would be 
equally evident that this taking away of the papal supremacy 
would mark the commencement of the period here called the 
time of the end. If this application is correct, the time of 
the end commenced in 1798; for there, as already noticed, the 
papacy was overthrown by the French, and has never since 
been able to wield the power it before possessed. That the 
oppression of the church by the papacy is what is here referred 
to, is evident, because that is the only one, with the possible 
exception of Rev. 2 : 10, connected with a "time appointed,'' 
or a prophetic period. 

Terse 36. And the king shall do according to his will ; and he shall 
exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak 
marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the 
indignation be accomplished ; for that that is determined shall be done. 

The king here introduced cannot denote the same power 
which was last noticed, namely, the papal power; for the 
specifications will not hold good if applied to that power. 

Take a declaration in the next verse : ' ' Nor regard any 
god." This has never been true of the papacy. God and 
Christ, though often placed in a false position, have never been 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 35, 36. 



265 



professedly set aside, and rejected from that system of religion. 
The only difficulty in applying it to a new power lies in the 
definite article the; for, it is urged, the expression " the king " 
would identify this as the one last spoken of. If it could be 
properly translated a king, there would be no difficulty ; and it 
is said that some of the best Biblical critics give it this render- 
ing, Mede, Wintle, Boothroyd, and others translating the pas- 
sage, "A certain king shall do according to his will," thus 
clearly introducing a new power upon the stage of action. 

Three peculiar features must appear in the power which 
fulfils this prophecy : (1) It must assume the character here 
delineated near the commencement of the time of the end, to 
which we were brought down in the preceding verse; (2) it 
must be a wilful power; (3) it must be an atheistical power; 
or perhaps the two latter specifications might be united by 
saying that its wilfulness would be manifested in the direction 
of atheism. A revolution exactly answering to this description 
did take place in France at the time indicated in the prophecy. 
Voltaire had sowed the seeds which bore their legitimate and 
baleful fruit. That boastful infidel, in his pompous but impo- 
tent self-conceit, had said, ' ' I am weary of hearing people 
repeat that twelve men established the Christian religion. I 
will prove that one man may suffice to overthrow it. ' ' Asso- 
ciating with himself such men as Rousseau, D'Alembert, 
Diderot, and others, he undertook the work. They sowed to 
the wind, and reaped the whirlwind. Their efforts culminated 
in the revolution of 1793, when the Bible was discarded, and 
the existence of the Deity denied, as the voice of the nation. 

The historian thus describes this great religious change : — 

1 ' It was not enough, they said, for a regenerate nation to 
have dethroned earthly kings, unless she stretched out the arm 
of defiance toward those powers which superstition had repre- 
sented as reigning over boundless space.'' — Scottfs Napoleon, 
Vol. I, p. 17%. 

Again he says : — 

' ' The constitutional bishop of Paris was brought forward to 
play the principal part in the most impudent and scandalous 



266 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



farce ever enacted in the face of a national representation. . . . 
He was brought forward in full procession, to declare to the 
convention that the religion which he had taught so many years 
was, in every respect, a piece of priestcraft, which had no. 
foundation either in history or sacred truth. He disowned, in 
solemn and explicit terms, the existence of the Deity, to 
whose worship he had been consecrated, and devoted himself 
in future to the homage of Liberty, Equality, Yirtue, and Mo- 
rality. He then laid on the table his episcopal decorations, 
and received a fraternal embrace from the president of the 
convention. Several apostate priests followed the example of 
this prelate. . . . The world, for the first time, heard an as- 
sembly of men, born and educated in civilization, and assuming 
the right to govern one of the finest of the European nations 
uplift their united voice to deny the most solemn truth which 
man's soul receives, and renounce UNANIMOUSLY THE 
' BELIEF AND WOKSHIP OF DEITY. " — Id., Vol. 7, 
p. 173. 

A writer some years ago in Blackwood* s Magazine said : — 
< 6 France is the only nation in the world concerning which 
the authentic record survives, that as a nation she lifted her 
hand in open rebellion against the Author of the universe. 
Plenty of blasphemers, plenty of infidels, there have been, and 
still continue to be, in England, Germany, Spain, and else- 
where; but France stands apart in the world's history as the 
single state which, by the decree of her legislative assembly, 
pronounced that there was no God, and of which the entire 
population of the capital, and a vast majority elsewhere, women 
as well as men, danced and sang with joy in accepting the 
announcement. " 

But there are other and still more striking specifications 
which were fulfilled in this power. 

Verse 37. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the 
desire of women, nor regard any god : for he shall magnify himself 
above all. 

The Hebrew word for woman is also translated wife; and 
Bishop Newton observes that this passage would be more 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 37. 



267 



properly rendered ' ' the desire of wives. ' ' This would seem to 
indicate that this government, at the same time it declared that 
God did not exist, would trample under foot the law which 
God had given to regulate the marriage institution. And 
we find that the historian has, unconsciously perhaps, and if so 
all the more significantly, coupled together the atheism and 
licentiousness of this government in the same order in which 
they are presented in the prophecy. He says : — 

' ' Intimately connected with these laws affecting religion was 
that which reduced the union of marriage — the most sacred 
engagement which human beings can form, and the perma- 
nence of which leads most strongly to the consolidation of 
society — to the state of a mere civil contract of a transitory 
character, which any two persons might engage in and cast loose 
at pleasure, when their taste was changed or their appetite grati- 
fied. If fiends had set themselves at work to discover a mode 
of most effectually destroying whatever is venerable, graceful, 
or permanent in domestic life, and obtaining at the same time 
an assurance that the mischief which it was their object to cre- 
ate should be perpetuated from one generation to another, they 
could not have invented a more effectual plan than the degra- 
dation of marriage into a state of mere occasional cohabitation 
or licensed concubinage. Sophie Arnoult, an actress famous 
for the witty things she said, described the republican marriage 
as the sacrament of adultery. These antireligious and anti- 
social regulations did not answer the purpose of the frantic and 
inconsiderate zealots by whom they had been urged forward." 
— Scottfs Napoleon, Vol. 7, p. 173. 

"Nor regard any god." In addition to the testimony 
already presented to show the utter atheism of the nation at 
this time, the following fearful language of madness and pre- 
sumption is to be recorded : — 

"The fear of God is so far from being the beginning of 
wisdom that it is the beginning of folly. Modesty is only an 
invention of refined voluptuousness. The Supreme King] the 
God of the Jews and the Christians, is but a phantom. Jesus 
Christ is an impostor. ' ' 



268 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Another writer says : — 

"Aug. 26, 1792, an open profession of atheism was made 
by the National Convention ; and corresponding societies and 
atheistical clubs were everywhere fearlessly held in the French 
nation. Massacres and the reign of terror became the most 
horrid.' 5 — Smith? 8 Key to Revelation, p. 323. 

' ' Hebert, Chaumette, and their associates appeared at the 
bar, and declared that God did not exist." — Alison, Vol. 7, 
p. 150. 

At this juncture all religious worship was prohibited, ex- 
cept that of liberty and the country. The gold and silver 
plate of the churches was seized upon and desecrated. The 
churches were closed. The bells were broken and cast into 
cannon. The Bible was publicly burned. The sacramental 
vessels were paraded through the streets on an ass, in token 
of contempt. A week of ten days, instead of seven, was 
established, and death was declared, in conspicuous letters 
posted over their burial places, to be an eternal sleep. But 
the crowning blasphemy, if these orgies of hell admit of de- 
grees, remained to be performed by the comedian Monvel, 
who, as a priest of Illuminism, said : — 

" God, if you exist, avenge your injured name. I bid you 
defiance ! You remain silent. You dare not launch your 
thunders ! Who after this, will believe in your existence f 
The Whole ecclesiastical establishment was destroyed." — Scottfs 
Napoleon, Vol. 7, p. 173. 

Behold what man is when left to himself, and what infidel- 
ity is when the restraints of law are thrown off, and it has the 
power in its own hands ! Can it be doubted that these scenes 
are what the omniscient One foresaw, and noted on the sacred 
page, when he pointed out a kingdom to arise which should 
exalt itself above every god, and disregard them all ? 

Verse 38. But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces : and a 
god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and 
with precious stones, and pleasant things. 

We meet a seeming contradiction in this verse. How can 
a nation disregard every god, and yet honor the god of forces ? 



CHAPTER 11, YERSE 38. 



269 



It could not at one and the same time hold both these posi- 
tions; but it might for a time disregard all gods, and then sub- 
sequently introduce another worship, and regard the god of 
forces. Did such a change occur in France at this time ? — It 
did. The attempt to make France a godless nation produced 
such anarchy that the rulers feared the power would pass en- 
tirely out of their hands, and therefore perceived that, as a 
political necessity, some kind of worship must be introduced; 
but they did not intend to introduce any movement which would 
increase devotion, or develop any true spiritual character among 
the people, but only such as would keep themselves in power, 
and give them control of the national forces. A few extracts 
from history will show this. Liberty and country were at first 
the objects of adoration. "Liberty, equality, virtue, and mo- 
rality, ' ' the very opposites of anything they possessed in fact 
or exhibited in practice, were words which they set forth as 
describing the deity of the nation. In 1794 the worship of the 
Goddess of Reason was introduced, and is thus described by 
the historian : — 

6 ' One of the ceremonies of this insane time stands unrivaled 
for absurdity combined with impiety. The doors of the con- 
vention were thrown open to a band of musicians, preceded by 
whom, the members of the municipal body entered in solemn 
procession, singing a hymn in praise of liberty, and escorting, 
as the object of their future worship, a vailed female whom 
they termed the Goddess of Reason. Being brought within 
the bar, she was unvaried with great form, and placed on the 
right hand of the president, when she was generally recognized 
as a dancing girl of the opera, with whose charms most of the 
persons present were acquainted from her appearance on the 
stage, while the experience of individuals was further extended. 
To this person, as the fittest representative of that reason whom 
they worshiped, the National Convention of France rendered 
public homage. This impious and ridiculous mummery had a 
certain fashion; and the installation of the Goddess of Reason 
was renewed and imitated throughout the nation, in such places 
where the inhabitants desired to show themselves equal to all 
the hights of the Revolution." — Scotf s Life of JYapoleofb. 



270 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



In introducing the worship of Reason, in 1794, Chaumette 
said : — ■ 

' 4 ' Legislative fanaticism has lost its hold; it has given place 
to reason. We have left its temples; they are regenerated. 
To-day an immense multitude are assembled under its Gothic 
roofs, which, for the first time, will re-echo the voice of truth. 
There the French will celebrate their true worship — that of 
Liberty and Reason. There we will form new vows for the 
prosperity of the armies of the Republic; there we will abandon 
the worship of inanimate idols for that of Reason — this ani- 
mated image, the masterpiece of creation.' 

"A vailed female, arrayed in blue drapery, was brought 
into the convention; and Chaumette, taking her by the hand, — 

" ' Mortals,' said he, ' cease to tremble before the powerless 
thunders of a God whom your fears have created. Henceforth 
. acknowledge no divinity but Reason. I offer you its noblest 
and purest image; if you must have idols, sacrifice only to such 
as this. . . . Fall before the august Senate of Freedom, Yail 
of Reason.' 

' ' At the same time the goddess appeared, personified by a 
celebrated beauty, Madame Millard, of the opera, known in 
more than one character to most of the convention. The god- 
dess, after being embraced by the president, was mounted on 
a magnificent car, and conducted, amidst an immense crowd, to 
the cathedral of Notre Dame, to take the place of the Deity. 
Then she was elevated on the high altar, and received the 
adoration of all present. 

u On the 11th of November, the popular society of the 
museum entered the hall of the municipality, exclaiming : 
4 Vive la Haison ! ' and carrying on the top of a pole the half- 
burned remains of several books, among others the breviaries 
and the Old and New Testaments, which ' expiated in a great 
fire, ' said the president, ' all the fooleries which they have made 
the human race commit.' 

' ' The most sacred relations of life were at the same period 
placed on a new footing suited to the extravagant ideas of the 
times. Marriage was declared a civil contract, binding only 



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CHAPTER 11, VERSE 39. 



271 



during the pleasure of the contracting parties. Mademoiselle 
Arnoult, a celebrated comedian, expressed the public feeling 
when she called ' marriage the sacrament of adultery.' " — Id. 

Truly, this was a strange god, whom the fathers of that 
generation knew not. JSTo such deity had ever before been set 
up as an object of adoration. And well might it be called the 
god of forces; for the object of the movement was to cause 
the people to renew their covenant and repeat their vows for 
the prosperity of the armies of France. Read again a few 
lines from the extract already given : — 

"We have left its temples ; they are regenerated. To-day an 
immense multitude is assembled under its Gothic roofs, which 
for the first time, will re-echo the voice of truth. There the 
French will celebrate their true worship, — that of Liberty and 
Reason. There we will form new vows for the prosperity of 
the armies of the Republic. ' ' * 

Verse 39. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange 
god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory : and he shall 
cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. 

The system of paganism which had been introduced into 
France, as exemplified in the worship of the idol set up in the 
person of the Goddess of Reason, and regulated by a heathen 
ritual which had been enacted by the National Assembly for 
the use of the French people, continued in force till the 
appointment of Napoleon to the provisional consulate of 
France in 1799. The adherents of this strange religion occu- 
pied the fortified places, the strongholds of the nation, as 
expressed in this verse. 



* During the time while the fantastic worship of reason was the national craze, 
the leaders of the revolution are known to history as "the atheists." But it was 
soon perceived that a religion with more powerful sanctions than the one then in 
vogue must be instituted, to hold the people. A form of worship therefore fol- 
lowed in which the object of adoration was the " Supreme Being." It was equally 
hollow so far as any reformation of life and vital godliness were concerned, but it 
took hold upon the supernatural. And while the goddess of Reason was indeed a 
"strange god," the statement in regard to honoring the " God of forces," may per- 
haps more appropriately be referred to this latter phase. See Thiers's French 
Revolution. 



272 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



But that which serves to identify the application of this 
prophecy to France, perhaps as clearly as any other particular, 
is the statement made in the last clause of the verse; namely, 
that they should " divide the land for gain." Previous to the 
Revolution, the landed property of France was owned by a few 
landlords in immense estates. These estates were required by 
the law to remain undivided, so that no heirs or creditors 
could partition them. But revolution knows no law; and in 
the anarchy that now reigned, as noted also in the eleventh of 
Revelation, the titles of the nobility were abolished, and their 
lands disposed of in small parcels for the benefit of the public 
exchequer. The government was in need of funds, and these 
large landed estates were confiscated, and sold at auction in 
parcels to suit purchasers. The historian thus records this 
unique transaction : — 

' ' The confiscation of two thirds of the landed property of 
- the kingdom, which arose from the decrees of the convention 
against the emigrants, clergy, and persons convicted at the 
Revolutionary Tribunals, . . . placed funds worth above 
£700,000,000 sterling at the disposal of the government." — 
Alison, Vol. IV, p. 151. 

When did ever an event transpire, and in what country, 
fulfilling a prophecy more completely than this ? As the nation 
began to come to itself, a more rational religion was demanded, 
and the heathen ritual was abolished. The historian thus de- 
scribes that event : — 

"A third and bolder measure was the discarding of the 
heathen ritual, and reopening the churches for Christian wor- 
ship; and of this the credit was wholly Napoleon's, who had to 
contend with the philosophic prejudices of almost all his col- 
leagues. He, in his conversation with them, made no attempts 
to represent himself a believer in Christianity, but stood only 
on the necessity of providing the people with the regular means 
of worship wherever it is meant to have a state of tranquillity. 
The priests who chose to take the oath of fidelity to the govern- 
ment were readmitted to their functions; and this wise meas- 
ure was followed by the adherence of not less than 20,000 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 40. 



273 



of these ministers of religion, who had hitherto languished 
in the prisons of France." — Lockharfs Life of Najpoleon, 
Vol. I, p. 15 '4- 

Thus terminated the Reign of Terror and the Infidel Revo- 
lution. Out of its ruins rose Bonaparte, to guide the tumult 
to his own elevation, place himself at the head of the French 
government, and strike terror to the hearts of nations. 

Verse 40. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south 
push at him : and the king of the north shall come against him like a 
whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships : and 
he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 

After a long interval, the king of the south and the king 
of the north again appear on the stage of action. We have 
met with nothing to indicate that we are to look to any local- 
ities for these powers other than those which shortly after the 
death of Alexander, constituted respectively the southern and 
northern divisions of his empire. The king of the south 
was at that time Egypt, and the king of the north was Syria, 
including Thrace and Asia Minor. Egypt is still, by common 
agreement, the king of the south, while the territory which at 
first constituted the king of the north, has been for the past 
four hundred years wholly included within the dominions of 
the sultan of Turkey. To Egypt and Turkey, then, in connec- 
tion with the power last under consideration, we must look for 
a fulfilment of the verse before us. 

This application of the prophecy calls for a conflict to spring 
up between Egypt and France, and Turkey and France, in 
1798, which year, as we have seen, marked the beginning of 
the time of the end; and if history testifies that such a triangu- 
lar war did break out in that year, it will be conclusive proof of 
the correctness of the application. 

We inquire, therefore, Is it a fact that at the time of the 
end, Egypt did "push," or make a comparatively feeble resist- 
ance, while Turkey did come like a resistless ' ' whirlwind, ' ' 
against "him," that is, the government of France? We have 
already produced some evidence that the time of the end com- 
18 - 



274 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



menced in 1798; and no reader of history need be informed 
that in that very year a state of open hostility between France 
and Egypt was inaugurated. 

To what extent this conflict owed its origin to the dreams 
of glory deliriously cherished in the ambitious brain of Napo- 
leon Bonaparte, the historian will form his own opinion; but 
the French, or Bonaparte at least, contrived to make Egypt the 
aggressor. Thus, when in the invasion of that country he had 
secured his first foothold in Alexandria, he declared that * 6 he 
had not come to ravage the country or to wrest it from the 
Grand Seignior, but merely to deliver it from the. domination 
of the Mamelukes, and to revenge the outrages which they had 
committed against France.'''' — Thiers 's French Revolution, Vol. 
IV, p. 268. 

Again the historian says : ' ' Besides, he [ Bonaparte ] had 
strong reasons to urge against them [the Mamelukes] ; for 
they had never ceased to ill-treat the French. ' ' — Id. , p. 273. 

The beginning of the year 1798 found France indulging in 
immense projects against the English. The Directory desired 
Bonaparte to undertake at once a descent upon England; but 
he saw that no direct operations of that kind could be judi- 
ciously undertaken before the fall, and he was unwilling to 
hazard his growing reputation by spending the summer in idle- 
ness. "But," says the historian, " he saw a far-off land, 
where a glory was to be won which would gain a new charm 
in the eyes of his countrymen by the romance and mystery 
which hung upon the scene. . Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs 
and the Ptolemies, would be a noble field for new triumphs." 
— Whitens History of France, p. J±69. 

But while still broader visions of glory opened before the 
eyes of Bonaparte in those Eastern historic lands, covering not 
Egypt only, but Syria, Persia, Hindustan, even to the Ganges 
itself, he had no difficulty in persuading the Directory that 
Egypt was the vulnerable point through which to strike at 
England by intercepting her Eastern trade. Hence, on the 
pretext above mentioned, the Egyptian campaign was under- 
taken. 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 40. 



275 



The downfall of the papacy, which marked the termination 
of the 1260 years, and, according to verse 35, showed the 
commencement of the time of the end, occurred on the 10th 
of February, 1798, when Eome fell into the hands of Berthier, 
the general of the French. On the 5th of March following, 
Bonaparte received the decree of the Directory relative to the 
expedition against Egypt. He left Paris May 3, and set sail 
from Toulon the 19th, with a large naval armament, consisting 
of 500 sail, carrying 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 sailors. July 
5, Alexandria was taken, and immediately fortified. On the 
23d the decisive battle of the pyramids was fought, in which 
the Mamelukes contested the field with valor and desperation, 
but were no match for the disciplined legions of the French. 
Murad Bey lost all his cannon, 400 camels, and 3000 men. 
The loss of the French was comparatively slight. On the 
21th, Bonaparte entered Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and only 
waited the subsidence of the floods of the Nile to pursue Murad 
Bey to Upper Egypt, whither he had retired with his shattered 
cavalry, and so make a conquest of the whole country. Thus 
the king of the south was able to make but a feeble resistance. 

At this juncture, however, the situation of Napoleon began 
to grow precarious. The French fleet, which was his only 
channel of communication with France, was destroyed by the 
English under Nelson at Aboukir; and on September 2 of this 
same year, 1798, the sultan of Turkey, under feelings of jeal- 
ousy against France, artfully fostered by the English embassa- 
dors at Constantinople, and exasperated that Egypt, so long a 
semi-dependency of the Ottoman empire, should be transformed 
into a French province, declared war against France. Thus 
the king of the north (Turkey) came against him (France) in 
the same year that the king of the south (Egypt) " pushed," 
and both "at the time of the end;" which is another conclu- 
sive proof that the year 1798 is the year which begins that 
period; and all of which is a demonstration that this applica- 
tion of the prophecy is correct ; for so many events meeting so 
accurately the specifications of the prophecy could not take 
place together, and not be a fulfilment of the prophecy. 



276 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Was the coming of the king of the north, or Turkey, like 
the whirlwind in comparison with the pushing of Egypt ? Na- 
poleon had crushed the armies of Egypt; he essayed to do the 
same thing with the armies of the sultan, who were menacing 
an attack from the side of Asia. Feb. 27, 1799, with 18,000 
men, he commenced his march from Cairo to Syria. He first 
took the fort of El-Arish, in the desert, then Jaffa (the Joppa 
of the Bible), conquered the inhabitants of Naplous at Zeta, 
and was again victorious at Jafet. Meanwhile, a strong body 
of Turks had intrenched themselves at St. Jean d'Acre, while 
swarms of Mussulmans gathered in the mountains of Samaria, 
ready to swoop down upon the French when they should be- 
siege Acre. Sir Sidney Smith at the same time appeared be- 
fore St. Jean d'Acre with two English ships, reinforced the 
Turkish garrison of that place, and captured the apparatus for 
the siege, which Napoleon had sent across by sea from Alexan- 
dria. A Turkish fleet soon appeared in the offing, which, with 
the Russian and English vessels then co-operating with them, 
constituted the ' ' many ships ' ' of the king of the north. 

On the 18th of March the siege commenced. Napoleon 
was twice called away to save some French divisions from 
falling into the hands of the Mussulman hordes that filled the 
country. Twice also a breach was made in the wall of the 
city; but the assailants were met with such fury by the gar- 
rison, that they were obliged, despite their best efforts, to give 
over the struggle. After a continuance of sixty days, Napo- 
leon raised the siege, sounded, for the first time in his career, 
the note of retreat, and on the 21st of May, 1799, commenced 
to retrace his steps to Egypt. 

"And he shall overflow and pass over." We have found 
events which furnish a very striking fulfilment of the pushing 
of the king of the south, and the whirlwind onset of the king 
of the north against the French power. Thus far there is 
quite a general agreement in the application of the prophecy. 
We now reach a point where the views of expositors begin to 
diverge. To whom do the words, he ' ' shall overflow and pass 
over," refer? — <to France or to the king of the north? The 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 40. 277 

application of the remainder of this chapter depends upon the 
answer to this question. From this point two lines of inter- 
pretation are maintained. Some apply the words to France, 
and endeavor to find a fulfilment in the career of Napoleon. 
Others apply them to the king of the north, and accordingly 
point for a fulfilment to events in the history of Turkey. We 
speak of these two positions only, as the attempt which some 
make to bring in the papacy here is so evidently wide of the 
mark that its consideration need not detain us. If neither of 
these positions is free from difficulty, as we presume no one 
will claim that it is, absolutely, it only remains that we take 
that one which has the weight of evidence in its favor. And 
we shall find one in favor of which the evidence does so greatly 
preponderate, to the exclusion of all others, as scarcely to leave 
any room for doubt in regard to the view here mentioned. 

Respecting the application of this portion of the prophecy 
to Napoleon or to France under his leadership, so far as we 
are acquainted with his history, we do not find events which we 
can urge with any degree of assurance as the fulfilment of 
the remaining portion of this chapter, and hence do not see 
how it can be thus applied. It must, then, be fulfilled by 
Turkey, unless it can be shown (1) that the expression ''king 
of the north " does not apply to Turkey, or (2) that there is 
some other power besides either France or the king of the 
north which fulfilled this part of the prediction. But if Tur- 
key, now occupying the territory which constituted the north- 
ern division of Alexander' s empire, is not the king of the north 
of this prophecy, then we are left without any principle to 
guide us in the interpretation ; and we presume all will agree 
that there is no room for the introduction of any other power 
here. The French king, and the king of the north, are the 
only ones to whom the prediction can apply. The fulfilment 
must lie between them. 

Some considerations certainly favor the idea that there is, 
in the latter part of verse 40, a transfer of the burden of the 
prophecy from the French power to the king of the north. 
The king of the north is introduced just before, as coming 



278 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

forth like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and many 
ships. The collision between this power and the French we 
have already noticed. The king of the north, with the aid of 
his aliies, gained the day in this contest ; and the French, 
foiled in their efforts, were driven back into Egypt. Now 
it would seem to be the more natural application to refer the 
' ' overflowing and passing over ' ' to that power which emerged 
in triumph from that struggle ; and that power was Turkey. 
We will only add that one who is familiar with the Hebrew 
assures us that the construction of this passage is such as to 
make it necessary to refer the overflowing and passing over 
to the king of the north, these words expressing the result of 
that movement which is just before likened to the fury of the 
whirlwind. 

Verse 41. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many 
" countries shall be overthrown : but these shall escape out of his hand, 
even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 

The facts just stated relative to the campaign of the French 
against Turkey, and the repulse of the former at St. Jean 
d'Acre, were drawn chiefly from the Encyclopedia Americana. 
From the same source we gather further particulars respecting 
the retreat of the French into Egypt, and the additional re- 
verses which compelled them to evacuate that country. 

Abandoning a campaign in which one third of the army 
had fallen victims to war and the plague, the French retired 
from St. Jean d'Acre, and after a fatiguing march of twenty - 
six days re-entered Cairo in Egypt. They thus abandoned all 
the conquests they had made in Judea; and the "glorious 
land, ' ' Palestine, with all its provinces, here called < ' countries, ' ' 
fell back again under the oppressive rule of the Turk. Edom, 
Moab, and Ammon, lying outside the limits of Palestine, south 
and east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan, were out of the line 
of march of the Turks from Syria to Egypt, and so escaped the 
ravages of that campaign. On this passage Adam Clarke has 
the following note: "These and other Arabians, they [the 
Turks] have never been able to subdue. They still occupy the 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 41, 42 



279 



deserts, and receive a yearly pension of forty thousand crowns 
of gold from the Ottoman emperors to permit the caravans 
with the pilgrims for Mecca to have a free passage." 

Verse 42. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries : 
and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 

On the retreat of the French to Egypt, a Turkish fleet landed 
18,000 men at Aboukir. Napoleon immediately attacked the 
place, completely routing the Turks, and re-establishing his 
authority in Egypt. But at this point, severe reverses to the 
French arms in Europe called Napoleon home to look after 
the interests of his own country. The command of the troops 
in Egypt was left with General Kleber, who, after a period of 
untiring activity for the benefit of the army, was murdered by 
a Turk in Cairo, and the command was left with Abdallah 
Menou. With an army which could not be recruited, every 
loss was serious. 

Meantime, the English government, as the ally of the 
Turks, had resolved to wrest Egypt from the French. 
March 13, 1800, an English fleet disembarked a body of 
troops at Aboukir. The French gave battle the next day, 
but were forced to retire. On the 18th Aboukir surrendered. 
On the 28th reinforcements were brought by a Turkish fleet, 
and the grand vizier approached from Syria with a large 
army. The 19th, Rosetta surrendered to the combined forces 
of the English and Turks. At Ramanieh a French corps of 
4000 men was defeated by 8000 English and 6000 Turks. 
At Elmenayer 5000 French were obliged to retreat, May 16, 
by the vizier, who was pressing forward to Cairo with 20,000 
men. The whole French army was now shut up in Cairo and 
Alexandria. Cairo capitulated June 27, and Alexandria, 
September 2. Four weeks after, Oct. 1, 1801, the prelimi- 
naries of peace were signed at London. 

"Egypt shall not escape " were the words of the prophecy. 
This language seems to imply that Egypt would be brought 
into subjection to some power from whose dominion it would 
desire to be released. As between the French and Turks, how 



280 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



did this question stand with the Egyptians ? — They preferred 
French rule. In R H. Madden' s Travels in Egypt, Nubia, 
Turkey, and Palestine in the years 1821-1827, published in 
London in 1829, it is stated that the French were much 
regretted by the Egyptians, and extolled as benefactors; that 
"for the short period they remained, they left traces of 
amelioration;" and that, if they could have established their 
power, Egypt would now be comparatively civilized. In view 
of this testimony, the language would not be appropriate if 
applied to the French; the Egyptians did not desire to escape 
out of their hands. They did desire to escape from the hands 
of the Turks, but could not. 

Verse 43. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and 
of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt : and the Libyans and 
the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 

In illustration of this verse we quote the following from 
Historic Echoes of the Voice of God, p. 19 : — ■ 

' ' History gives the following facts : When the French were 
driven out of Egypt, and the Turks took possession, the sultan 
permitted the Egyptians to reorganize their government as it 
was before the French invasion. He asked of the Egyptians 
neither soldiers, guns, nor fortifications, but left them to 
manage their own affairs independently, with the important 
exception of putting the nation under tribute to himself. In 
the articles of agreement between the sultan and the pasha of 
Egypt, it was stipulated that the Egyptians should pay annu- 
ally to the Turkish government a certain amount of gold and 
silver, and ' six hundred thousand measures of corn, and four 
hundred thousand of barley.' " 

" The Libyans and the Ethiopians/' "the Cushim," says 
Dr. Clarke, " the unconquered Arabs," who have sought the 
friendship of the Turks, and many of whom are tributary to 
them to the present time. 

Verse 44. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall 
trouble him : therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and 
utterly to make away many. 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 43-45. 



281 



On this verse Dr. Clarke has a note which is worthy of men- 
tion. He says: "This part of the prophecy is allowed to be 
yet unfulfilled. " His note was printed in 1825. In another 
portion of his comment, he says : £ £ If the Turkish power be 
understood, as in the preceding verses, it may mean that the 
Persians on the east, and the Russians on the north, will at 
some time greatly embarrass the Ottoman government." 

Between this conjecture of Dr. Clarke's, written in 1825, 
and the Crimean war of 1853-1856, there is certainly a 
striking coincidence, inasmuch as the very powers he men- 
tions, the Persians on the east and the Russians on the north, 
were the ones which instigated that conflict. Tidings from 
these powers troubled him (Turkey). Their attitude and 
movements incited the sultan to anger and revenge. Russia, 
being the more aggressive party, was the object of attack. 
Turkey declared war on her powerful northern neighbor in 
1853. The world looked on in amazement to see a govern- 
ment which had long been called "the Sick Man of the East," 
a government whose army was dispirited and demoralized, 
whose treasuries were empty, whose rulers were vile and imbe- 
cile, and whose subjects were rebellious and threatening seces- 
sion, rush with such impetuosity into the conflict. The prophecy 
said that they should go forth with ' < great fury ; ' ' and when 
they thus went forth in the war aforesaid, they were described, 
in the profane vernacular of an American writer, as ' 1 fighting 
like devils." England and France, it is true, soon came to the 
help of Turkey; but she went forth in the manner described, 
and as is reported, gained important victories before receiving 
the assistance of these powers. 

Verse 45. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between 
the seas in the glorious holy mountain ; yet he shall come to his end, and 
none shall help him. 

We have now traced the prophecy of the 11th of Daniel 
down, step by step, and have thus far found events to fulfil 
all its predictions. It has all been wrought out into history 
except this last verse. The predictions of the preceding verse 



282 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



having been fulfilled within the memory of the generation now 
living, we are carried by this one past our own day into the 
future; for no power has yet performed the acts here described. 
But it is to be fulfilled ; and its fulfilment must be accom- 
plished by that power which has been continuously the subject 
of the prophecy from the 40th verse down to this 45th verse. 
If the application to which we have given the preference in 
passing over these verses, is correct, we must look to Turkey 
to make the move here indicated. 

And let it be noted how readily this could be done. Pales- 
tine, which contains the £ 1 glorious holy mountain, ' ' the moun- 
tain on which Jerusalem stands, " between the seas," the Dead 
Sea and the Mediterranean, is a Turkish province; and if the 
Turk should be obliged to retire hastily from Europe, he could 
easily go to any point within his own dominions to establish 
-his temporary headquarters, here appropriately described as the 
tabernacles, movable dwellings, of his palace; but he could not 
go beyond them. The most notable point within the limit of 
Turkey in Asia, is Jerusalem. 

And mark, also, how applicable the language to that 
power : "He shall come to his end, and none shall help him." 
This expression plainly implies that this power has previously 
received help. And what are the facts ? — In the war against 
France in 1798-1801, England and Russia assisted the sultan. 
In the war between Turkey and Egypt in 1838-1840, England, 
Russia, Austria, and Prussia intervened in behalf of Turkey. 
In the Crimean war in 1853-1856, England, France, and 
Sardinia supported the Turks. And in the late Russo-Turkish 
war, the great powers of Europe interfered to arrest the prog- 
ress of Russia. And without the help received in all these 
instances, Turkey would probably have failed to maintain her 
position. And it is a notorious fact that since the fall of the 
Ottoman supremacy in 1840, the empire has existed only 
through the sufferance of the great powers of Europe. With- 
out their pledged support, she would not be long able to main- 
tain even a nominal existence; and when that is withdrawn, 
she must come to the ground. So the prophecy says the king 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 



2sa 



comes to his end and none help him; and he comes to his end, 
as we may naturally infer because none help him, — because 
the support previously rendered is withdrawn. 

Have we any indications that this part of the prophecy is 
soon to be fulfilled ? As we raise this inquiry, we look, not to 
dim and distant ages in the past, whose events, so long ago 
transferred to the page of history, now interest only the few, 
but to the present living, moving world. Are the nations 
which are now on the stage of action, with their disciplined 
armies and their multiplied weapons of war, making any move- 
ment looking to this end ? 

All eyes are now turned with interest toward Turkey; and 
the unanimous opinion of statesmen is, that the Turk is des- 
tined soon to be driven from Europe. Some years since, a 
correspondent of the New York Tribune, writing from the East, 
said : < k Kussia is arming to the teeth ... to be avenged on 
Turkey . . . Two campaigns of the Russian army will drive 
the Turks out of Europe.^ Carleton, formerly a correspondent 
of the Boston Journal, writing from Paris under the head of 
' 4 The Eastern Question, ' ' said : — 

" The theme of conversation during the last week has' not 
been concerning the Exposition, but the 4 Eastern Question. ' 
To what will it grow ? Will there be war ? What is Russia 
going to do ? What position are the Western powers going to 
take ? These are questions discussed not only in the cafes and 
restaurants, but in the Corps Legislatif Perhaps I cannot ren- 
der better service at the present time than to group together 
some facts in regard to this question, which, according to pres- 
ent indications, are to engage the immediate attention of the 
world. What is the 6 Eastern Question ' ? It is not easy to 
give a definition; for to Russia it may mean one thing, to 
France another, and to Austria still another; but sifted of 
every side issue, it may be reduced to this, — the driving- of 
the Turk into Asia, and a scramble for his territory." 

Again he says : — 

' ' Surely the indications are that the sultan is destined soon 
to see the western border of his dominions break off, piece by 



284 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



piece. But what will follow ? Are Roumania, Servia, Bosnia, 
and Albania to set up as an independent sovereignty together, 
and take position among the nations ? or is there to be a grand 
rush for the estate of the Ottoman ? But that is of the future, 
a future not far distant." 

Shortly after the foregoing extracts were written, an aston- 
ishing revolution took place in Europe. France, one of the 
parties, if not the chief one, in the alliance to uphold the Otto- 
man throne, was crushed by Prussia in the Franco- Prussian 
war of 1870. Prussia, another party, was too much in sym- 
pathy with Russia to interfere with her movements against the 
Turk. England, a third, in an embarrassed condition financially 
could not think of entering into any contest in behalf of Turkey 
without the alliance of France. Austria had not recovered 
from the blow she received in her preceding war with Prussia; 
.and Italy was busy with the matter of stripping the pope of his 
temporal power, and making Rome the capital of the nation. 
A writer in the New York Tribune remarked that if Turkey 
should become involved in difficulty with Russia, she could 
count on the prompt 6 ' assistance of Austria, France, and 
England." But none of these powers, nor any others who 
would be likely to assist Turkey, were at the time referred to 
in any condition to do so, owing principally to the sudden and 
unexpected humiliation of the French nation, as stated above. 

Russia then saw that her opportunity had come. She ac- 
cordingly startled all the powers of Europe in the fall of the 
same memorable year, 1870, by stepping forth and deliberately 
announcing that she designed to regard no longer the stipula- 
tions of the treaty of 1856. This treaty, concluded at the 
termination of the Crimean war, restricted the warlike opera- 
tions of Russia in the Black Sea. But Russia must have the 
privilege of using those waters for military purposes, if she 
would carry out her designs against Turkey; hence her deter- 
mination to disregard that treaty just at the time when none of 
the powers were in a condition to enforce it. 

The ostensible reason urged by Russia for her movements 
in this direction, was, that she might have a sea front and har- 
bors in a warmer climate than the shores of the Baltic; but 




PETER THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 



285 



the real design was against Turkey. Thus the Churchman, of 
Hartford, Conn., in an able article on the present "European 
Medley," states that Russia in her encroachments upon Turkey, 
< ' is not merely seeking a sea frontier, and harbors lying on 
the great highways of commerce, unclosed by arctic winters, but 
that, with a feeling akin to that which inspired the Crusades, 
she is actuated by an intense desire to drive the Crescent from 
the soil of Europe. ' ' 

This desire on the part of Russia has been cherished as a 
sacred legacy since the days of Peter the Great. That famous 
prince, becoming sole emperor of Russia in 1688, at the age of 
sixteen, enjoyed a prosperous reign of thirty-seven years, to 
1725, and left to his successors a celebrated "last will and 
testament," imparting certain important instructions for their 
constant observance. The 9th article of that "will" enjoined 
the following policy : — 

' 1 To take every possible means of gaining Constantinople 
and the Indies (for he who rules there will be the true sover- 
eign of the world); excite war continually in Turkey and 
Persia; establish fortresses in the Black Sea; get control of 
the sea by degrees, and also of the Baltic, which is a double 
point, necessary to the realization of our project; accelerate as 
much as possible the decay of Persia; penetrate to the Persian 
Gulf; re-establish, if possible, by the way of Syria, the ancient 
commerce of the 'Levant; advance to the Indies, which are the 
great depot of the world. Once there, we can do without the 
gold of England." 

The eleventh article reads : ' ' Interest the House of Austria 
in the expulsion of the Turks from Europe, and quiet their 
dissensions at the moment of the conquest of Constantinople 
(having excited war among the old states of Europe), by giving 
to Austria a portion of the conquest, which afterward will or 
can be reclaimed. ' ' 

The following facts in Russian history will show how per- 
sistently this line of policy has been followed : — 

"In 1696, Peter the Great wrested the Sea of Azov from 
the Turks, and kept it. Next, Catharine the Great won the 
Crimea. In 1812, by the peace of Bucharest, Alexander I 



286 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



obtained Moldavia, and the prettily-named province of Bess- 
arabia, with its apples, peaches, and cherries. Then came the 
great Nicholas, who won the right of the free navigation of the 
Black Sea, the Dardanelles, and the Danube, but whose inor- 
dinate greed led him into the Crimean war, by which he lost 
Moldavia, and the right of navigating the Danube, and the 
unrestricted navigation of the Black Sea. This was no doubt a 
severe repulse to Russia, but it did not extinguish the designs 
upon the Ottoman power, nor did it contribute in any essential 
degree to the stability of the Ottoman empire. Patiently bi- 
ding her time, Russia has been watching and waiting, and in 
1870, when all the Western nations were watching the Franco- 
Prussian war, she announced to the powers that she would be 
no longer bound by the treaty of 1856, which restricted her us 3 
of the Black Sea; and since that time that sea has been, as it 
was one thousand years ago, to all intents and purposes, a 
mare Russicum. ' ' — San Francisco Chronicle. 

Napoleon Bonaparte well understood the designs of Russia, 
and the importance of her contemplated movements. While a 
prisoner on the island of St. Helena, in conversation with his 
governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, he gave utterance to the following 
opinion: — 

' ' In the course of a few years, Russia will have Constanti- 
nople, part of Turkey, and all of Greece. This I hold to be as 
certain as if it had already taken place. All the cajolery and 
flattery that Alexander practiced upon me was to gain my con- 
sent to effect that object. I would not give it, foreseeing that 
the equilibrium of Europe would be destroyed. Once mistress 
of Constantinople, Russia gets all the commerce of the Medi- 
terranean, becomes a naval power, and then God knows what 
may happen. The object of my invasion of Russia was to pre- 
vent this, by the interposition between her and Turkey of a 
new state, which I meant to call into existence as a barrier to 
her Eastern encroachments." 

Kossuth, also, took the same view of the political board, 
when he said : " In Turkey will be decided the fate of the 
world." 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 



287 



The words of Bonaparte, quoted above, in reference to the 
destruction of ' ' the equilibrium of Europe, ' ' reveal the motive 
which has induced the great powers to tolerate so long the ex- 
istence on the Continent of a nation which is false in religion, 
destitute of humanity, and a disgrace to modern civilization. 
Constantinople is regarded, by general consent, as the grand 
strategic point of Europe ; and the powers have each sagacity or 
jealousy enough to see, or think they see, the fact that if any 
one of the European powers gains permanent possession of that 
point, as Russia desires to do, that power will be able to dictate 
terms to the rest of Europe. This position no one of the powers 
is willing that any other power should possess; and the only 
apparent way to prevent it is for them all to combine, by tacit 
or express agreement, to keep each other out, and suffer the 
unspeakable Turk to drag along his sickly Asiatic existence on- 
the soil of Europe. This is preserving that ' ' balance of power ' ' 
over which they are all so sensitive. But this cannot always 
continue. " He shall come to his end and none shall help him." 
The sick man seems determined to reduce himself most speedily 
to such a degree of offensiveness that Europe will be obliged 
to drive him into Asia, as a matter of safety to its own civ- 
ilization. 

When Russia, in 1870, announced her intention to disregard 
the treaty of 1856, the other powers, though incapable of doing 
anything, nevertheless, as was becoming their ideas of their own 
importance, made quite a show of offended dignity. A con- 
gress of nations was demanded, and the demand was granted. 
The congress was held, and proved, as everybody expected it 
would prove, simply a farce so far as restraining Russia was 
concerned. The San Francisco Chronicle of March, 1871, had 
this paragraph touching 6 ' The Eastern-Question Congress : " — 

"It is quite evident that, as far as directing or controlling 
the action of the Muscovite government is concerned, the con- 
gress is little better than a farce. England originated the idea 
of the congress, simply because it afforded her an opportunity 
of abandoning, without actual dishonor, a position she had 
assumed rather too hastily, and Russia was complacent enough 



288 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



to join in the ' little game, ' feeling satisfied that she would lose 
nothing by her courtesy. Turkey is the only aggrieved party 
in this dextrous arrangement. She is left face to face with her 
hereditary and implacable enemy; for the nations that previ- 
ously assisted her, ostensibly through friendship and love of 
justice, but really through motives of self-interest, have evaded 
the challenge so openly flung into the arena by the Northern 
Colossus. It is easy to foresee the end of this conference. 
Russia will get all she requires, another step will be taken to- 
ward the realization of Peter the Great's will, and the sultan 
will receive a foretaste of his apparently inevitable doom — 
expulsion from Europe." 

From that point the smoldering fires of the ' ' Eastern Ques- 
tion ' ' continued to agitate and alarm the nations of Europe, till 
in 1877 the flames burst forth anew. On the 24th of April in 
that year, Russia declared war against Turkey, ostensibly to de- 
fend the Christians against the inhuman barbarity of the Turks, 
really to make another trial to carry out her long-cherished 
determination to drive the Turk from Europe. The events 
and the results of that war of 1877-1878, are of such recent 
date that the general reader can easily recall them. It was 
evident from the first that Turkey was overmatched. Russia 
pushed her approaches till the very outposts of Constantinople 
were occupied by her forces. But diplomacy on the part of 
the alarmed nations of Europe again stepped in to suspend for 
awhile the contest. The Berlin Congress was held Jan. 25, 
1878. Turkey agreed to sign conditions of peace. The condi- 
tions were that the straits of the Dardanelles should be open to 
Russian ships ; that Russians should occupy Batoum, Kars, 
and Erzeroum ; that Turkey should pay Russia £20,000,000 
sterling (nearly $100,000,000), as a war indemnity; and that 
the treaty should be signed at Constantinople. In making this 
announcement, the Allgemeine Zeitung added : ' < The eventual 
entry of the Russians into Constantinople cannot longer be 
regarded as impracticable." 

The Detroit Evening News of Feb 20, 1878, said : — 
' ' According to the latest version of the peace conditions, 
Turkey — besides her territorial losses, the surrender of a few 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 



289 



ironclads, the repairs of the mouth of the Danube, the reim- 
bursement of Kussian capital invested in Turkish securities, the 
indemnity to Russian subjects in Constantinople for war losses, 
aud the maintenance of about 100,000 prisoners of war — will 
have to pay to Russia, in round figures, a sum equivalent to 
about $552,000,000 in our money. The unestimated items 
will easily increase this to six hundred million. With her tax- 
able territory reduced almost to poverty-stricken Asia Minor, 
and with her finances at present in a condition of absolute 
chaos, it is difficult to see where she is going to get the money, 
however ready her present rulers may be to sign the contract. 

1 ' The proposition amounts to giving the czar a permanent 
mortgage on the whole empire, and contains an implied threat 
that he may foreclose at any time, by the seizure of the remain- 
der of European Turkey. In this last aspect, all Europe has a 
vital interest in the matter, and particularly England, even if 
the conditions were not in themselves calculated to drive Eng- 
lish creditors crazy, by destroying their last hope of ever get- 
ting a cent of their large investments in Turkish bonds. It 
makes Russia a preferred creditor of the bankrupt Porte, with 
the additional advantage of being assignee in possession, leaving 
creditors with prior claims out in the cold." 

The following paragraph taken from the Philadelphia Pub- 
lic Ledger, August, 1878, sets forth an instructive and very 
suggestive exhibit of the shrinkage of Turkish territory within 
the past sixty years, and especially as the result of the war 
of 1877:— * 

4 1 Any one who will take the trouble to look at a map of 
Turkey in Europe dating back about sixty years, and compare 
that with the new map sketched by the treaty of San Stefano 
as modified by the Berlin Congress, will be able to form a judg- 
ment of the march of progress that is pressing the Ottoman power 
out of Europe. Then, the northern boundary of Turkey ex- 
tended to the Carpathian Mountains, and eastward of the River 
Sereth it embraced Moldavia as far north nearly as the 47th 
degree of north latitude. That map embraced also what is now 
the kingdom of Greece. It covered all of Servia and Bosnia. 
But by the year 1830 the northern frontier of Turkey was 
19 



290 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



driven back from the Carpathians to the south bank of the 
Danube, the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia being 
emancipated from Turkish domination, and subject only to the 
payment of an annual tribute in money to the Porte. South of 
the Danube, the Servians had won a similar emancipation for 
their country. Greece also had been enabled to establish her 
independence. Then, as recently, the Turk was truculent and 
obstinate. Russia and Great Britain proposed to make Greece 
a tributary state, retaining the sovereignty of the Porte. This 
was refused, and the result was the utter destruction of the 
powerful Turkish fleet at Navarino, and the erection of the in- 
dependent kingdom of Greece. Thus Turkey in Europe was 
pressed back on all sides. Now, the northern boundary, which 
was so recently at the Daaube, has been driven south to the 
Balkans. Roumania and Servia have ceased even to be tribu- 
tary, and have taken their place among independent states. 
Bosnia has gone under the protection of Austria, as Roumania 
did under that of Russia in 1829. < Rectified ' boundaries give 
Turkish territory to Servia, Montenegro, and Greece. Bulgaria 
takes the place of Roumania as a self-governing principality, 
having no dependence on the Porte, and paying only an annual 
tribute. Even south of the Balkans the power of the Turk is 
crippled, for Roumelia is to have ' home rule 5 under a Christian 
governor. And so again the frontier of Turkey in Europe is 
pressed back on all sides, until the territory left is but the 
shadow of what it was sixty years ago. To produce this re- 
sult has been the policy and the battle of Russia for more than 
half a century; for nearly that space of time it has been the 
struggle of some of the other < powers ' to maintain the 6 integ- 
rity ' of the Turkish empire. Which policy has succeeded, and 
which failed, a comparison of maps at intervals of twenty-five 
years will show. Turkey in Europe has been shriveled up in 
the last half century. It is shrinking back and back toward 
Asia, and, though all the ' powers ' but Russia should unite 
their forces to maintain the Ottoman system in Europe, there is 
a manifest destiny visible in the history of the last fifty years 
that must defeat them." 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 



291 



A correspondent of the Christian Union, writing from Con- 
stantinople under date of Oct. 8, 1878, said : — 

"When we consider the difficulties which now beset this 
feeble and tottering government, the only wonder is that it can 
stand for a day. Aside from the funded debt of $1,000,000,- 
000 upon which it pays no interest, it has an enormous floating 
debt representing all the expenses of the war; its employees are 
unpaid; its army has not been disbanded or even reduced; and 
its paper money has become almost worthless. The people 
have lost heart, and expect every day some new revolution or 
a renewal of the war. The government does not know which 
to distrust most, its friends or its enemies." 

Since 1878 the tendency of all movements in the East has 
been in the same direction, foreboding greater pressure upon 
the Turkish government in the direction of its expulsion from 
^.the soil of Europe. The occupation of Egypt by the English, 
which took place in 1883, is another step toward the inevitable 
result, and furnishes a movement which the Independent, of 
Isew York, ventures to call "the beginning of the end." 

In 1895 the world was startled by the report of the terrible 
atrocities inflicted by the Turks and Kurds upon the Arme- 
nians. Keliable reports show that many thousands have been 
slaughtered, with every circumstance of fiendish cruelty. The 
nations through their ambassadors protest and threaten; the 
sultan promises, but does nothing. He evidently has not 
the disposition, if he has the power, to stay the tide of blood. 
Fanatical Moslems seem seized with a frenzy to destroy all the 
Armenian men and take their wives and children to slavery or 
a more lamentable fate. At this writing (January, 1897) thou- 
sands of widows and orphans are said to be wandering in the 
mountains of Armenia, perishing of cold and hunger; and they 
stretch out despairing hands to England and America to save 
them from total destruction. A thrill of horror has run through 
Christendom, and a cry is rising from all lands, Let the Turk 
be driven out, and come to his end ! And yet the selfishness 
of the nations, and their jealousy of each other, restrain their 
hands from arresting this carnival of slaughter and ruin, by 



292 



PROPHECY OF DAXIEL. 



unseating the terrible Turk. How long, O Lord, how 
long ? 

Thus all evidence goes to show that the Turk must soon 
leave Europe. Where will he then plant the tabernacles of his 
palace ? In Jerusalem ? That certainly is the most probable 
point. Newton on the Prophecies, p. 31$, says : u Between 
the seas in the glorious holy mountain must denote, as we 
have shown, some part of the Holy Land. There the Turk 
shall encamp with all his powers ; yet he ' shall come to his 
end, and none shall help him, ' — shall help him effectually, or 
deliver him. * ' 

Time will soon determine this matter; and it may be but 
a few months. And when this takes place, what follows \ — ■ 
Events of the most momentous interest to all the inhabitants 
of this world, as the next chapter immediately shows. 



Xote. — Since the foregoing was written, the situation in Turkey has 
grown continually worse. Armenian massacres have continued, and be- 
tween January and September, 1896, rebellion against the Turk broke out 
in Crete and Macedonia. Besides this, fanatical Moslems themselves 
show signs of dissatisfaction with the sultan, and threaten revolution. 
Serious disturbance has just taken place (September, 1896) in Constanti- 
nople, resulting in the slaughter of some two thousand Armenians. The 
crown-heads of Europe are now in consultation in regard to the disposi- 
tion of the affairs of Turkey, with the prospect that some determination 
will be reached, and thus the only obstacle in the way of the dissolution 
of the Turkish empire be removed. 




Terse 1. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince 
which standeth for the children of thy people : and there shall be a time 
of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same 
time : and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that 
shall be found written in the book. 

DEFINITE time is introduced in this verse, not a time 
revealed in names or figures which specify any particular 
year or month or day, but a time made definite by the 
occurrence of a certain event with which it stands connected. 
"At that time." What time? — The time to which we are 
brought by the closing verse of the preceding chapter, — the 
time when the king of the north shall plant the tabernacles 
of his palace in the glorious holy mountain; or, in other 
words, when the Turk, driven from Europe, shall hastily make 
Jerusalem his temporary seat of government. We noticed, in 
remarks upon the latter portion of the preceding chapter, some 
of the agencies already in operation for the accomplishment of 
this end, and some of the indications that the Turk will very 
soon be obliged to make this move. And when this event 
takes place, he is to come to his end; and then, according to 
this verse, we look for the standing up of Michael, the great 
prince. This movement on the part of Turkey is the signal for 
the standing up of Michael; that is, it marks this event as next 
in order. And to guard against all misunderstanding, let the 

[293] 




294 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



reader note that the position is not here taken that the next 
movement against the Turks will drive them from Europe, or 
that when they shall establish their capital at Jerusalem Christ 
begins his reign without the lapse of a day or an hour of 
time. But here are the events, to come, as we believe, in the 
following order : (1) Further pressure brought to bear in some 
way upon the Turk; (2) His retirement from Europe; (3) His 
final stand at Jerusalem; (4) The standing up of Michael, or 
the beginning of the reign of Christ, and his coming in the 
clouds of heaven. And it is not reasonable to suppose that 
any great amount of time will elapse between these events. 

Who, then, is Michael ? and what is his standing up ? — 
Michael is called, in Jude 9, the u archangel. " This means the 
chief angel, or the head over the angels. There is but one. 
Who is he \ — He is the one whose voice is heard from heaven 
. when the dead are raised. 1 Thess. 4 : 16. And whose voice 
is heard in connection with that event i — The voice of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. John 5 : 28. Tracing back the evidence 
with this fact as a basis, we reach the following conclusions : 
The voice of the Son of God is the voice of the archangel; 
the archangel, then, is the Son of God. But the archangel is 
Michael; hence also Michael is the Son of God. The expres- 
sion of Daniel, "the great prince which standeth for the chil- 
dren of thy people, ' ' is alone sufficient to identify the one here 
spoken of as the Saviour of men. He is the Prince of life 
(Acts 3 : 15); and God hath exalted him to be a "Prince and 
a Saviour." Acts 5 : 31. He is the great Prince. There is 
no one greater, save the sovereign Father. 

And he "standeth for the children of thy people." He 
condescends to take the servants of God in this poor mortal 
state, and redeem them for the subjects of his future kingdom. 
He stands for us. His people are essential to his future pur- 
poses, an inseparable part of the purchased inheritance; and 
they are to be the chief agents of that joy in view of which 
Christ endured all the sacrifice and suffering which have 
marked his intervention in behalf of the fallen race. Amaz- 
ing honor ! Be everlasting gratitude repaid him for his con- 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 1 



295 



descension and mercy unto us ! Be his the kingdom, power, 
and glory, forever and ever ! 

We now come to the second question, What is the standing 
up of Michael ? The key to the interpretation of this expres- 
sion is furnished us in verses 2 and 3 of chapter 11 : "There 
shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; " "A mighty king 
shall stand up, that shall reign with great dominion. ' ' There 
can be no doubt as to the meaning of these expressions in 
these instances. They signify to take the kingdom, to reign. 
The same expression in the verse under consideration must 
mean the same. At that time, Michael shall stand up, shall 
take the kingdom, shall commence his reign. 

But is not Christ reigning now ? — Yes, associated with his 
Father on the throne of universal dominion. Eph. 1 : 20-22; 
Rev. 3 : 21. But this throne, or kingdom, he gives up at the 
end of this dispensation (1 Cor. 15 : 21); and then he com- 
mences his reign brought to view in the text, when he stands 
up, or takes his own kingdom, the long-promised throne of his 
father David, and establishes a dominion of which there shall 
be no end. Luke 1 : 32, 33. 

An examination of all the events that constitute, or are in- 
separably connected with, this change in the position of our Lord, 
does not come within the scope of this work. Suffice it to say 
that then the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom " of 
our Lord and of his Christ. ' ' His priestly robes are laid aside 
for royal vesture. The work of mercy is done, and the proba- 
tion of our race is ended. Then, he that is filthy is beyond 
the hope of recovery; and he that is holy is beyond the danger 
of falling. All cases are decided. And from that time on, 
till the terrified nations behold the majestic form of their in- 
sulted King in the clouds of heaven, the nations are broken as 
with a rod of iron, and dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel, 
by a time of trouble such as never was, a series of judgments 
unparalleled in the world's history, culminating in the revela- 
tion of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven in flaming fire, to 
take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the 
gospel. 2 Thess. 1 : 7, 8; Rev. 11 : 15; 22: 11, 12.' 



296 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Tims momentous are the events introduced by the standing 
up of Michael. And he thus stands up, or takes the kingdom, 
marking the introduction of this decisive period in human his- 
tory, for some length of time before he returns personally to 
this earth. How important, then, that we have a knowledge 
of his position, that we may be able to trace the progress of 
his work, and understand when that thrilling moment draws 
near which ends his intercession in behalf of mankind, and 
fixes the destiny of all forever. 

But how are we to know this \ How are we to determine 
what is transpiring in the far-off heaven of heavens, in the 
sanctuary above % — God has been so good as to place the 
means of knowing this in our hands. When certain great 
events take place on earth, he has told us what events synchro- 
nizing with them, occur in heaven. By things which are seen, 
we thus learn of things that are unseen. As we "look through 
nature up to nature's God," so through terrestrial phenomena 
and events we trace great movements in the heavenly world. 
When the king of the north plants the tabernacles of his 
palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, a 
movement for which we already behold the initial steps, then 
Michael, our Lord, stands up, or receives from his Father the 
kingdom, preparatory to his return to this earth. Or it might 
have been expressed in words like these : Then our Lord ceases 
his work as our great High Priest, and the probation of the 
world is finished. The great prophecy of the 2300 days gives us 
definitely the commencement of the final division of the work 
in the sanctuary in heaven. The verse before us gives us data 
whereby we can discover approximately the time of its close. 

In connection with the standing up of Michael, there occurs 
a time of trouble such as never was. In Matt. 24 : 21 we read 
of a period of tribulation such as never was before it, nor 
should be after it. This tribulation, fulfilled in the oppression 
and slaughter of the church by the papal power, is already 
past; while the time of trouble of Dan. 12 : 1, is, according to 
the view we take, still future. How can there be two times of 
trouble, many years apart, each of them greater than any that 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 2. 



297 



had been before it, or should be after it % To avoid difficulty 
here, let this distinction be carefully noticed : The tribulation 
spoken of in Matthew is tribulation upon the church. Christ 
is there speaking to his disciples, and of his disciples in coming 
time. They were the ones involved, and for their sake the 
days of tribulation were to be shortened. Yerse 22. Whereas, 
the time of trouble mentioned in Daniel is not a time of relig- 
ious persecution, but of national calamity. There has been 
nothing like it since there was — not a church, but — a nation. 
This comes upon the world. This is the last trouble to come 
upon the world in its present state. In Matthew there is refer- 
ence made to time beyond that tribulation; for after that was 
past, there was never to be any like it upon the people of God. 
But there is no reference here in Daniel to future time after 
the trouble here mentioned; for this closes up this world's his- 
tory. It includes the seven last plagues of Revelation 16, and 
culminates in the revelation of the Lord Jesus, coming upon 
his pathway of clouds in naming fire, to visit destruction upon 
his enemies who would not have him to reign over them. But 
out of this tribulation every one shall be delivered who shall be 
found written in the book — the book of life ; 4 ' for in Mount 
Zion . . . shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in 
the remnant whom the Lord shall call." Joel 2 : 32. 

Verse 2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth 
shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting 
contempt. 

This verse also shows how momentous a period is intro- 
duced by the standing up of Michael, or the commencement of 
the reign of Christ, as set forth in the first verse of this chapter; 
for the event here described in explicit terms is a resurrection 
of the dead. Is this the general resurrection which takes place 
at the second coming of Christ ? or is there to intervene between 
Christ's reception of the kingdom and his revelation to earth in 
all his advent glory (Luke 19 : 12) a special resurrection an- 
swering to the description here given ? One of these it must 
be; for every declaration of Scripture will be fulfilled. 



298 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Why may it not be the former, or the resurrection which 
occurs at the last trump ? Answer : Because only the right- 
eous, to the exclusion of all the wicked, have part in that 
resurrection. Those who sleep in Christ then come forth; but 
they only, for the rest of the dead live not again for a thou- 
sand years. Rev. 20 : 5. So then the general resurrection of 
the whole race is comprised in two grand divisions, first, of the 
righteous exclusively, at the coming of Christ; secondly, of the 
wicked exclusively, a thousand years thereafter. The general 
resurrection is not a mixed resurrection. The righteous and 
the wicked do not come up promiscuously at the same time. 
But each of these two classes is set off by itself, and the time 
which elapses between their respective resurrections is plainly 
stated to be a thousand years. 

But in the resurrection brought to view in the verse before us, 
many of both righteous and wicked come up together. It cannot 
therefore be the first resurrection, which includes the righteous 
only, nor the second resurrection, which is as distinctly confined 
to the wicked. If the text read, Many of them that sleep in 
the dust of the earth shall awake to everlasting life, then the 
"many " might be interpreted as including all the righteous, 
and the resurrection be that of the just at the second coming 
of Christ. But the fact that some of the many are wicked, and 
rise to shame and everlasting contempt, bars the way to such 
an application. 

It may be objected that this text does not affirm the awak- 
ening of any but the righteous, according to the translation of 
Bush and Whiting; namely, "And many of them that sleep in 
the dust of the earth shall awake, these to everlasting life, and 
those to shame and everlasting contempt. 1 ' It will be noticed, 
first of all, that this translation (which is not by any means 
above criticism) proves nothing till the evident ellipsis is sup- 
plied. This ellipsis some therefore undertake to supply as 
follows : < ' And many of them that sleep in the dust of the 
earth shall awake, these [the awakened ones] to everlasting 
life, and those [the unawakened ones] to shame and everlasting 
contempt. ' ' It will be noticed, again, that this does not supply 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 2. 



299 



the ellipses, but only adds a comment, which is a very different 
thing. To supply the ellipsis is simply to insert those words 
which are necessary to complete the sentence. 4 ' Many of 
them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake," is a com- 
plete sentence. The subject and predicate are both expressed. 
The next member, 4 'Some [or these] to everlasting life," is 
not complete. What is wanted to complete it ? Not a com- 
ment, giving some one's opinion as to who are intended by 
"these, " but a verb of which these shall be the subject. What 
verb shall it be ? This must be determined by the preceding 
portion of the sentence, which is complete, where the verb shall 
awake is used. This, then, is the predicate to be supplied : 
"Some [or these] shall awake to everlasting life." Applying 
the same rule to the next member, ' ' Some [ or those ] to 
shame and everlasting contempt," which is not in itself a com- 
plete sentence, we find ourselves obliged to supply the same 
words, and read it, ' ' Some [or those] shall awake to shame and 
everlasting contempt. ' ' Anything less than this will not com- 
plete the sense, and anything different will pervert the text; 
for a predicate to be supplied cannot go beyond one already 
expressed. The affirmation made in the text pertains only to 
the many who awake. Nothing is affirmed of the rest who do 
not then awake. And to say that the expression "to shame 
and everlasting contempt ' ' applies to them, when nothing is 
affirmed of them, is not only to outrage the sense of the pas- 
sage, but the laws of language as well. And of the many who 
awake, some come forth to everlasting life, and some to shame 
and everlasting contempt, which further proves a resurrection 
to consciousness for these also; for while contempt may be felt 
and manifested by others toward those who are guilty, shame 
can be felt and manifested only by the guilty parties them- 
selves. This resurrection, therefore, as already shown, com- 
prises some of both righteous and wicked, and cannot be the 
general resurrection at the last day. 

Is there, then, any place for a special or limited resurrec- 
tion, or elsewhere any intimation of such an event, before the 
Lord appears ? The resurrection here predicted takes place 



300 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



when God's people are delivered from the great time of trouble 
with which the history of this world terminates; and it seems 
from Rev. 22 : 11 that this deliverance is given before the Lord 
appears. The awful moment arrives when he that is filthy and 
unjust is pronounced unjust still, and he that is righteous 
and holy is pronounced holy still. Then the cases of all are 
forever decided. And when this sentence is pronounced upon 
the righteous, it must be deliverance to them; for then they are 
placed beyond all reach of danger or fear of evil. But the 
Lord has not at that time made his appearance; for he imme- 
diately adds, ' ' And, behold, I come quickly. 5 ' The utterance 
of this solemn fiat which seals the righteous to everlasting life, 
and the wicked to eternal death, is supposed to be synchronous 
with the great voice which is heard from the throne in the tem- 
ple of heaven, saying, It is done ! Rev. 16 : IT. And this is 
evidently the voice of God, so often alluded to in descriptions 
of the scenes connected with the last day. Joel speaks of it, 
and says (chapter 3 : 16): 4 'The Lord also shall roar out of 
Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and 
the earth shall shake : but the Lord will be the hope of his 
people, and the strength of the children of Israel. ' ' . The mar- 
gin reads instead of "hope," "place of repair, or harbor." 
Then, at this time, when God's voice is heard from heaven, 
just previous to the coming of the Son of man, God is a harbor 
for his people, or, which is the same thing, provides them de- 
liverance. Here, then, at the voice of God, when the deci- 
sions of eternity are pronounced upon the race, and the last 
stupendous scene is just to open upon a doomed world, God 
gives to the astonished nations another evidence and pledge of 
his power, and raises from the dead a multitude who have long 
slept in the dust of the earth. 

Thus we see that there is a time and place for the resurrec- 
tion of Dan. 12 : 2. We now add that a passage in the book of 
Revelation makes it necessary to suppose a resurrection of this 
kind to take place. Rev. 1 : 7 reads: " Behold, he cometh with 
clouds [this is unquestionably the second advent]; and every eye 
shall see him [of the nations then living on the earth], and they 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 2. 



301 



also which pierced him [ those who took an active part in the 
terrible work of his crucifixion] ; and all kindreds of the earth 
shall wail because of him." Those who crucified the Lord, 
would, unless there was an exception made in their cases, re- 
main in their graves till the end of the thousand years, and 
come up in the general assembly of the wicked at that time. 
But here it .is stated that they behold the Lord at his second 
advent. They must therefore have a special resurrection for 
that purpose. 

And it is certainly most appropriate that some who were 
eminent in holiness, who labored and suffered for their hope 
of a coming Saviour, but died without the sight, should be 
raised a little before, to witness the scenes attending his glo- 
rious epiphany; as, in like manner, a goodly company came out 
of their graves after his resurrection, to behold his risen glory 
(Matt. 27 : 52, 53), and to escort him in triumph to the right 
hand of the throne of the majesty on high (Eph. 4 : 8, margin); 
and also that some, eminent in wickedness, who have done 
most to reproach the name of Christ and injure his cause, and 
especially those who secured his cruel death upon the cross, and 
mocked and derided him in his dying agonies, should be raised, 
as part of their judicial punishment, to behold his return in the 
clouds of heaven, a celestial victor, in, to them, unendurable 
majesty and splendor. 

One more remark upon this text before passing on. What 
is here said is supposed by some to furnish good evidence of the 
eternal conscious suffering of the wicked, because those of this 
character who are spoken of, come forth to shame and ever- 
lasting contempt. How can they forever suffer these, unless 
they are forever conscious \ It has already been stated that 
shame implies their consciousness; but it will be noticed that 
this is not said to be everlasting. This qualifying word is not 
inserted till we come to the contempt, which is an emotion felt 
by others toward the guilty parties, and does not render nec- 
essary the consciousness of those against whom it is directed. 
And so some read the passage^: ' ' Some to shame, and the ever- 
lasting contempt of their companions." And so it will be. 



302 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



Shame for their wickedness and corruption will burn into their 
very souls, so long as they have conscious being. And when 
they pass away, consumed for their iniquities, their loathsome 
characters and their guilty deeds excite only contempt on the 
part of all the righteous, unmodified and unabated so long as 
they hold them in remembrance at all. The text therefore fur- 
nishes no proof of the eternal suffering of the wicked. 

Verse. 3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the 
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever 
and ever. 

The margin reads "teachers" in place of "wise." And 
they that be teachers shall shine as the brightness of the firma- 
ment; that is, of course, those who teach the truth, and lead 
others to a knowledge of it, just previous to the time when the 
events recorded in the foregoing verses are to be fulfilled. 
And, as the world estimates loss and profit, it costs something 
to be teachers of these things in these days. It costs reputa- 
tion, ease, comfort, and often property ; it involves labors, 
crosses, sacrifices, loss of friendship, ridicule, and, not infre- 
quently, persecution. And the question is often asked, How 
can you afford it ? How can you afford to keep the Sabbath, 
and perhaps lose a situation, reduce your income, or it may 
be even hazard your means of support ? O blind, deluded, 
sordid question ! O what shortsightedness, to make obedi- 
ence to what God requires a matter of pecuniary consideration! 
How unlike is this to the noble martyrs, who loved not their 
lives unto the death ! No ; the affording is all on the other 
side. When God commands, we cannot afford to disobey. 
And if we are asked, How can you afford to keep the Sabbath, 
and do other duties involved in rendering obedience to the 
truth ? we have only to ask in reply, How can you afford not to 
do it ? And in the coming day, when those who have sought 
to save their lives shall lose them, and those who have been 
willing to hazard all for the sake of the truth and its divine 
Lord, shall receive the glorious ^reward promised in the text, 
and be raised up to shine as the firmament, and as the imper- 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 3. 



303 



ishable stars forever and ever, it will then be seen who have 
been wise, and who on the contrary, have made the choice of 
blindness and folly. The wicked and worldly now look upon 
Christians as fools and madmen, and congratulate themselves 
upon their superior shrewdness in shunning what they call their 
folly, and avoiding their losses. We need make no response ; 
for those who now render this decision will soon themselves 
reverse it, and that with terrible though unavailing earnestness. 

Meanwhile, it is the Christian's privilege to revel in the 
consolations of this marvelous promise. A conception of its 
magnitude can be gathered only from the stellar worlds them- 
selves. What are these stars, in the likeness of which the 
teachers of righteousness are to shine forever and ever ? How 
much of brightness, and majesty, and length of days, is in- 
volved in this comparison ? 

The sun of our own solar system is one of these stars. 
If we compare it with this globe upon which we live (our 
handiest standard of measurement), we find it an orb of no 
small magnitude and magnificence. Our earth is 8000 miles 
in diameter; but the sun's diameter is 885,680 miles. In size 
it is one and a half million times larger than our globe; and 
in the matter of its substance, it would balance three hundred 
and fifty-two thousand worlds like ours. What immensity 
is this ! 

Yet this is far from being the largest or the brightest of 
the orbs which drive their shining chariots in myriads through 
the heavens. His proximity (he being only some ninety-five 
million miles from us) gives him with us a controlling pres- 
ence and influence, But far away in the depths of space, 
so far that they appear like mere points of light, blaze other 
orbs of vaster size and greater glory. The nearest fixed star, 
Alpha Centauri, in the southern hemisphere, is found, by the 
accuracy and efficiency of modern instruments, to be nineteen 
thousand million miles away; but the pole-star system is fif- 
teen times as remote, or two hundred and eighty-five thou- 
sand million miles; and it shines with a luster equal to that 
of eighty-six of our suns; others are still larger, as, for in- 



304 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



stance, Vega, which emits the light of three hundred and 
forty-four of our suns; Capella, four hundred and thirty; 
Arcturus, five hundred and sixteen; and so on, till at last 
we reach the great star Alcyone, in the constellation of the 
Pleiades, which floods the celestial spaces with a brilliancy 
twelve thousand times that of the ponderous orb which lights 
and controls our solar system ! Why, then, does it not appear 
more luminous to us ? — Ah ! its distance is twenty-five million 
diameters of the earth's orbit; and the latter is one hundred 
and ninety million miles ! Figures are weak to express such 
distances. It will be sufficient to say that its glowing light 
must traverse space as light only travels, — 192,000 miles a 
second, — for a period of more than seven hundred years, be- 
fore it reaches this distant world of ours ! 

Some of these monarchs of the skies rule singly, like our 
- own sun. Some are double; that is, what appears to us like 
one star is found to consist of two stars — two suns with their 
retinue of planets, revolving around each other; others are 
triple; some are quadruple; and one, at least, is sextuple. 

Besides this, they show all the colors of the rainbow. 
Some systems are white, some blue, some red, some yellow, 
some green; and this means different-colored days for the 
planets of those systems. Castor gives his planets green days. 
The double pole-star gives his yellow. In some, the different 
suns belonging to the same system are variously colored. Says 
Dr. Burr, in his Ecce Ccelum, p. 136 : 44 And, as if to make 
that Southern Cross the fairest object in all the heavens, we 
find in it a group of more than a hundred variously colored 
red, green, blue, and bluish-green suns, so closely thronged 
together as to appear in a powerful telescope like a superb 
bouquet, or piece of fancy jewelry." 

And what of the age of these glorious bodies ? A few years 
pass away, and all things earthly gather the mold of age, and 
the odor of decay. How much in this world has perished 
entirely ! But the stars shine on as fresh as in the beginning. 
Centuries and cycles have gone by, kingdoms have arisen and 
slowly passed away; we go back beyond the dim and shadowy 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 4. 



305 



horizon of history, go back even to the earliest moment intro- 
duced by revelation, when order was evoked from chaos, and 
the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted 
for joy — even then the stars were on their stately marches, and 
how long before this we know not; for astronomers tell us 
of nebulas lying on the farthest outposts of telescopic vision, 
whose light in its never-ceasing flight would consume five 
million years in reaching this planet. So ancient are these 
stellar orbs. Yet their brightness is not dimmed, nor their 
force abated. The dew of youth still seems fresh upon them. 
No broken outline shows the foothold of decay; no faltering 
motion reveals the decrepitude of age. Of all things visible, 
these stand next to the Ancient of days; and their undimin- 
ished glory is a prophecy of eternity. 

And thus shall they who turn many to righteousness shine 
in a glory that shalh bring joy even to the heart of the Re- 
deemer; and thus shall their years roll on forever and ever. 

Veese 4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, 
even to the time of the end : many shall run to and fro, and knowledge 
shall be increased. 

The ''words" and "book" here spoken of, doubtless 
refer to the things which had been revealed to Daniel in this 
prophecy. These things were to be shut up and sealed until 
the time of the end; that is, they were not to be specially 
studied, or to any great extent understood, till that time. The 
time of the end, as has already been shown, commenced in 
1798. As the book was closed up and sealed to that time, the 
plain inference is that at that time, or from that point, the book 
would be unsealed; that is, people would be better able to un- 
derstand it, and would have their attention specially called to 
this part of the inspired word. Of what has been done on the 
subject of prophecy since that time, it is unnecessary to remind 
the reader. The prophecies, especially Daniel's prophecy, have 
been under examination by all students of the word wherever 
civilization has spread abroad its light upon the earth. And 
so the remainder of the verse, being a prediction of what should 
take place after the time of the end commenced, says, ' ' Many 
20 



306 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased," 
Whether this running to and fro refers to the passing of peo- 
ple from place to place, and the great improvements in the 
facilities for transportation and travel made within the present 
century, or whether it means, as some understand it, a turning 
to and fro in the prophecies, that is, a diligent and earnest 
search into prophetic truth, the fulfilment is certainly and surely 
before our eyes. It must have its application in one of these 
two ways; and in both of these directions the present age is 
very strongly marked. 

So of the increase of knowledge. It must refer either to 
the increase of knowledge in general, the development of the 
arts and sciences, or an increase of knowledge in reference to 
those things revealed to Daniel, which were closed up and 
sealed to the time of the end. Here, again, apply it which 
way we will, the fulfilment is most marked and complete. 
Look at the -marvelous achievements of the human mind, and 
the cunning works of men's hands rivaling the magician's 
wildest dreams, which have been .accomplished within the last 
hundred years. It was recently stated in the Scientific Ameri- 
can that within this time more advancement has been made in 
all scientific attainments, and more progress in all that tends 
to domestic comfort, the rapid transaction of business among 
men, the transmission of intelligence from one to another, and 
the means of rapid transit from place to place and even from 
continent to continent, than all that was done for three thou- 
sand years previous, put together. 

By a series of vignettes the artist has given us in the ac- 
companying plates a bird's-eye view of some of the most 
wonderful discoveries and marvelous scientific and mechanical 
achievements of the present age. In the upper left hand cor- 
ner of Plate I, we have — 

1. The self-binding reaping machine, representing a large 
class of inventions by which the processes of agriculture have 
been revolutionized within the memory of multitudes now 
living. 



INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE, PLATE I. 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 4. 



307 



2. On the circular shield is the cotton gin, which in its first 
rude form, by Whitney, in 1793, lifted cotton culture into one 
of the great industries of the world. 

3. The sewing-machine, of the importance of which in the 
industrial world since its invention by Elias Howe, Jr., in 
1846, nothing need be said. 

1. An electric street-car, propelled by the trolley system, 
which represents the achievements in electrical discovery, such 
as electric lighting, electric power, as illustrated in the great 
Niagara plant, etc. 

5. The phonograph, by which human speech can be indefi- 
nitely preserved and transmitted. 

6. The invention of photography, with which, with its ap- 
plication to engraving, all are familiar. 

7. Typical of the wonderful inventions in printing machin- 
ery, some perfecting presses delivering from a roll of pa- 
per, from 30,000 to 60,000 completed papers, printed on both 
sides, cut, pasted, and folded ready for delivery, every hour. 

8. The monster siege and battle guns of the present day. 

9. Represents the monstrous telescopes of the last quarter 
of a century, by which such marvelous discoveries in the 
heavens have been made. 

10. The telephone, by which a man in Chicago can carry 
on vocal conversation with another man in New York. 

11. The discovery of petroleum, which has revolutionized 
domestic lighting, and is making possible horseless vehicles 
for common roads. 

12. A mining scene suggesting the pneumatic drill and 
other modern devices for tunneling mountains and exploring 
the hidden depths of the earth. 

13. The steam fire-engine, one of the greatest safeguards 
of modern times. 

14. The Brooklyn Bridge, showing what strides have been 
made in engineering skill in these days. This is probably soon 
to be surpassed by a similar and much larger structure, over 
the Hudson, connecting New York with Jersey City. 



308 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



15. The Washington monument, the highest solid monu- 
ment in the world (555 ft., 5-J- inches). 

16. The bicycle, working a revolution in suburban personal 
travel. The manufacturers' estimate for the output in 1896, in 
the United States alone, is three quarters of a million machines. 
This, and trolley street-car propulsion, are rendering horses a 
drug on the market. 

17. A telegraphic instrument. First put in operation in 
1844. There are now untold thousands of miles of telegraphic 
wire in use. 

18. The magnificent ocean iron ships of the present day. 
For passenger and war service nothing was ever produced to 
compare with the great steamers of the present decade. 

19. Railway transportation. The empire express on N. Y. 
Central ; fastest train in the world, averaging nearly sixty miles 
an hour. Jan. 1, 1890, according to Scientific American of 
Aug. 30, 1890, there were in the United States alone 161,397 
miles of track. There were invested in American railways 
$9,680,942,240. In 1889 five hundred million passengers, 
were carried, and the gross earnings were over one billion 
dollars. 

Many other things might be spoken of, such as submarine 
armor to explore the depths of the sea, balloons to explore the 
spaces above us, power spinning-machines, and anesthetics to 
prevent pain in surgery, etc., etc. 

What a galaxy of wonders to originate in a single age ! 
How marvelous the scientific attainments of the present day, 
upon which all these discoveries and achievements concen- 
trate their light ! Truly, viewed from this standpoint, we 
have reached the age of the increase of knowledge. 

And to the honor of Christianity let it be noted in what 
lands, and by whom, all these discoveries have been made, and 
so much done to add to the facilities and comforts of life. It 
is in Christian lands, among Christian men, since the great 
Reformation. Not to the Dark Ages, which furnished only a 
travesty of Christianity; not to pagans, who in their ignorance 
know not God, nor to those who in Christian lands deny him, 



INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE, PLATE II. 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 4. 



309 



is the credit of this progress due. Indeed, it is the very spirit 
of equality and individual liberty inculcated in the gospel of 
Christ when preached in its purity, which unshackles human 
limbs, unfetters human minds, invites them to the highest use 
of their powers, and makes possible such an age of free thought 
and action, in which these wonders can be achieved. 

Of the marvelous character of the present age, Victor Hugo 
speaks as follows : — 

4 'In science it works all miracles; it makes saltpeter out of 
cotton, a horse out of steam, a laborer out of the voltaic pile, 
a courier out of the electric fluid, and a painter of the sun ; it 
bathes itself in the subterranean waters, while it is warmed with 
the central fires ; it opens upon the two infinities those two 
windows, — the telescope on the infinitely great, the microscope 
on the infinitely little; and it finds in the first abyss the stars 
of heaven, and in the second abyss the insects, which prove the 
existence of a God. It annihilates time, it annihilates distance, 
it annihilates suffering; it writes a letter from Paris to London, 
and has the answer back in ten minutes; it cuts off the leg of 
a man — the man sings and smiles." — Le Petit Napoleon. 

But if we take the other standpoint, and refer the increase 
of knowledge to an increase of Biblical knowledge, we have 
only to look at the wonderful light which, within the past sixty 
years, has shone upon the Scriptures. The fulfilment of proph- 
ecy has been revealed in the light of history. The use of a 
better principle of interpretation has led to conclusions show- 
ing, beyond dispute, that the end of all things is near. Truly 
the seal has been taken from the book, and knowledge respect- 
ing what God has revealed in his word, is wonderfully in- 
creased. We think it is in this respect that the prophecy is 
more especially fulfilled, but only in an age like the present 
could the prophecy, even in this direction, be accomplished. 

That we are in the time of the end, when the book of this 
prophecy should no longer be sealed, but be open and under- 
stood, is shown by Kev. 10 : 1, 2, where a mighty angel is seen 
to come down from heaven with a little book in his hand open. 
For proof that the little book, there said to be open, is the book 



310 



PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 



here closed up and sealed, and that that angel delivers his mes- 
sage in this generation, see on Rev. 10 : 2. 

Verse 5. Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, 
the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side 
of the bank of the river. 6. And one said to the man clothed in linen, 
which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end 
of these wonders? 7. And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was 
upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left 
hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever that it shall be 
for a time, times, and an half ; and when he shall have accomplished to 
scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 

The question, ' 4 How long shall it be to the end of these 
wonders ? ' 5 undoubtedly has reference to all that has previously 
been mentioned, including the standing up of Michael, the time 
of trouble, the deliverance of God's people, and the special and 
antecedent resurrection of verse 2. And the answer seems to 
be given in two divisions : First, a specific prophetic period is 
marked off; and, secondly, ^an indefinite period follows before 
the conclusion of all these things is reached; just as we have it 
in chapter 8:13, 14. When the question was asked, "How 
long the vision . . . to give both the sanctuary and the host 
to be trodden under foot?" the answer mentioned a definite 
period of 2300 days, and then an indefinite period of the 
cleansing of the sanctuary. So in the text before us, there is 
given the period of a time, times, and a half, or 1260 years, 
and then an indefinite period for the continuance of the scatter- 
ing of the power of the holy people, before the consummation. 

The 1260 years mark the period of papal supremacy. Why 
is this period here introduced ? - — Probably because this power 
is the one which does more than any other in the world's history 
toward scattering the power of the holy people, or oppressing 
the church of God. But what shall we understand by the ex- 
pression, ' ' Shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the 
holy people"? A literal translation of the Septuagint seems 
to present it in a clearer light: u When he shall have finished 
the scattering of the power of the holy people." To whom 
does the pronoun he refer? According to the wording of this 
scripture, the antecedent would at first sight seem to be u Him 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 5-9. 



311 



that liveth forever, ' ' or Jehovah, but, as an eminent expositor 
of the prophecies judiciously remarks, in considering the pro- 
nouns of the Bible we are to interpret them according to the 
facts of the case; and hence must frequently refer them to an 
antecedent understood, rather than to some noun which is ex- 
pressed. So, here, the little horn, or man of sin, having been 
introduced by the particular mention of the time of his suprem- 
acy; namely, 1260 years, may be the power referred to by the 
pronoun he. For 1260 years he had greviously oppressed the 
church, or scattered its power. After his supremacy is taken 
away, his disposition toward the truth and its advocates still 
remains, and his power is still felt to a certain extent, and he 
continues his work of oppression just as far as he is able, till — 
when ? — Till the last of the events brought to view in verse 1, 
the deliverance of God's people, every one that is found written 
in the book. Being thus delivered, persecuting powers are no 
longer able to oppress them; their power is no longer scattered; 
the end of the wonders brought to view in this great prophecy 
is reached; and all its predictions are accomplished. 

Or, we may, without particularly altering the sense, refer 
the pronoun he to the one mentioned in the oath of verse 7, 
as 44 Him that liveth forever," that is God, since he employs the 
agency of earthly powers in chastising and disciplining his 
people, and in that sense may be said himself to scatter their 
power. By his prophet he said concerning the kingdom of 
Israel, "/will overturn, overturn, overturn it, . . . until He 
come whose right it is." Eze. 21:27. And again, "Jeru- 
salem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times 
of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21 : 24. Of like import 
is the prophecy of Dan. 8 : 13 : " How long the vision . . . 
to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under 
foot?" Who gives them to this condition? — God. Why? 
— To discipline; to "purify and make white" his people. 
How long ? — Till the sanctuary is cleansed. 

Verse 8. And I heard, but I understood not : then said I, O my 
Lord, what shall be the end of these things ? 9. And he said, Go thy 
way, Daniel : for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the 



312 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL 



end. 10. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried ; but the 
wicked shall do wickedly : and none of the wicked shall understand : 
but the wise shall understand. 

How forcibly are we reminded, by Daniel's solicitude to 
understand fully all that had been shown him, of Peter's words 
where he speaks of the prophets' inquiring and searching dili- 
gently to understand the predictions concerning the sufferings 
of Christ and the glory that should follow; and also of the fact 
that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister. How 
little were some of the prophets permitted to understand of 
what they wrote ! But they did not therefore refuse to write. 
If God required it, they knew that in due time he would see 
that his people derived from their writings all the benefit that 
he intended. So the language here used to Daniel was the 
same as telling him that when the right time should come, the 
wise would understand the meaning of what he had written, 
and be profited thereby. The time of the end was the time in 
which the Spirit of God was to break the seal from off this 
book; and consequently this was the time during which the 
wise should understand, while the wicked, lost to all sense of 
the value of eternal truth, with hearts callous and hardened in 
sin, would grow continually more wicked and more blind. 
None of the wicked understand. The efforts which the wise 
put forth to understand, they call folly and presumption, and 
ask, in sneering phrase, 4 'Where is the promise of his com- 
ing ? " And should the question be raised, Of what time and 
what generation speaketh the prophet this ? the solemn answer 
would be, Of the present time, and of the generation now be- 
fore us. This language of the prophet is now receiving a most 
striking fulfilment. 

The phraseology of verse 10 seems at first sight to be rather 
peculiar : "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried. " 
How, it may be asked, can they be made white, and then tried 
(as the language would seem to imply), when it is by being 
tried that they are purified and made white % Answer : The 
language doubtless describes a process which is many times 
repeated in the experience of those, who, during this time, are 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 10, 11. 



313 



being made ready for the coming and kingdom of the Lord. 
They are purified and made white to a certain degree, as com- 
pared with their former condition. Then they are again tried. 
Greater tests are brought to bear upon them. If they endure 
these, the work of purification is thus carried on to a still 
greater extent, — the process of being made white is made to 
reach a still higher stage. And having reached this state, they 
are tried again, resulting in their being still further purified and 
made white; and thus the process goes on till characters are 
developed which will stand the test of the great day, and a 
spiritual condition is reached which needs no further trial. 

Verse 11. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken 
away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a 
thousand two hundred and ninety days. 

We have here a new prophetic period introduced; namely, 
1290 prophetic days, which would denote the same number of 
literal years. From the reading of the text, some have in- 
ferred (though the inference is not a necessary one) that this 
period begins with the setting up of the abomination of desola- 
tion, or the papal power, in 538, and consequently extends to 
1828 But while we find nothing in the latter year to mark its 
termination, we do find evidence in the margin that it begins 
before the setting up of the papal abomination. The margin 
reads, " To set up the abomination," etc. With this reading 
the text would stand thus : " And from the time that the daily 
sacrifice shall be taken away to set up [or in order to set up] 
the abomination that maketh desolate, there shall be a thou- 
sand two hundred and ninety days." The daily has already 
been shown to be, not the daily sacrifice of the Jews, but the 
daily or continual abomination, that is, paganism. (See on 
chapter 8 : 13.) This had to be taken away to prepare the 
way for the papacy. For the historical events showing how 
this was accomplished in 508, see on chapter 11 : 31. We are 
not told directly to what event these 1290 days reach; but 
inasmuch as their commencement is marked by a work which 
takes place to prepare the way for the setting up of the papacy, 



314 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



it would be most natural to conclude that their end would be 
marked by the cessation of papal supremacy. Counting back, 
then, 1290 years from 1798, we have the year 508, where it 
has been shown that paganism was taken away, thirty years 
before the setting up of the papacy. This period is doubtless 
given to show the date of the taking away of the daily, and it 
is the only one which does this. The two periods, therefore, 
the 1290 and the 1260 days, terminate together in 1798, the 
one beginning in 538, and the other in 508, thirty years 
previous. 

Verse 12. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand 
three hundred and five and thirty daj T s ; 13. But go thou thy way till the 
end be ; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. 

Still another prophetic period is here introduced, denoting 
1335 years. The testimony concerning this period, like that 
which pertains to the 1290 years, is very meager. Can we tell 
when this period begins and ends ? The only clue we have to 
the solution of this question, is the fact that it is spoken of in 
immediate connection with the 1290 years, which commenced, 
as shown above, in 508. From that point there shall be, says 
the prophet, 1290 days. And the very next sentence reads, 
"Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days." 
From what point ? — From the same point, undoubtedly, as 
that from which the 1290 date; namely, 508. Unless they are 
to be reckoned from this point, it is impossible to locate them, 
and they must be excepted from the prophecy of Daniel when 
we apply to it the words of Christ, ' c Whoso readeth, let him 
understand." Matt. 24 : 15. From this point they would^ ex- 
tend to 1843; for 1335 added to 508 make 1843. Commenc- 
ing in the spring of the former year, they ended in the spring 
of the latter. 

But how can it be that they have ended, it may be asked, 
since at the end of these days Daniel stands in his lot, which is 
by some supposed to refer to his resurrection from the dead ? 
This question is founded on a misapprehension in two respects : 
First, that the days at the end of which Daniel stands in his 
lot are the 1335 days; and, secondly, that the standing of 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 12, 13. 



315 



Daniel in his lot is his resurrection, which also cannot be sus- 
tained. The only thing promised at the end of the 1335 days 
is a blessing unto those who wait and come to that time; that 
is, those who are then living. What is this blessing ? Looking 
at the year 1843, when these years expired, what do we behold? 
— We see a remarkable fulfilment of prophecy in the great 
proclamation of the second coming of Christ. Forty-five years 
before this, the time of the end commenced, the book was un- 
sealed, and light began to increase. About the year 1843, there 
was a grand culmination of all the light that had been shed 
on prophetic subjects up to that time. The proclamation went 
forth in power. The new and stirring doctrine of the setting 
up of the kingdom of God, shook the world. New life was 
imparted to the true disciples of Christ. The unbelieving were 
condemned, the churches were tested, and a spirit of revival 
was awakened of which modern times, at least, have furnished 
no parallel. 

Was this the blessing? Listen to the Saviour's words: 
' ' Blessed are your eyes, ' ' said he to his disciples, ' 8 for they 
see; and your ears, for they hear." Matt. 13 : 16. And again 
he told his followers that prophets and kings had desired to 
see the things which they saw, and had not seen them. But 
"blessed, " said he to them, " are the eyes which see the things 
that ye see." Luke 10 : 23, 24. If a new and glorious truth 
was a blessing in the days of Christ to those who received it, 
why was it not equally so in a. d. 1843 ? 

It may be objected that those who engaged in this move- 
ment were disappointed in their expectations; so were the 
disciples of Christ at his first advent, in an equal degree. 
They shouted before him as he rode into Jerusalem, expecting 
that he would then take the kingdom ; but the only throne to 
which he then went was the cross; and instead of being hailed 
as king in a royal palace, he was laid a lifeless form in Joseph' s 
new sepuicher. Nevertheless, they were "blessed" in receiv- 
ing the truths they had heard. 

It may be objected further that this was not a sufficient 
blessing to be marked by a prophetic period. Why not, since 



316 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



the period in which it was to occur ; namely, the time of the 
end, is introduced by a prophetic period; since our Lord, in 
verse 14 of his great prophecy of Matthew 24, makes a special 
announcement of this movement; and since it is still further 
set forth in Rev. 14 : 6, 7, under the symbol of an angel flying 
through mid-heaven with a special announcement of the ever- 
lasting gospel to the inhabitants of the earth ? Surely the Bible 
gives great prominence to this movement 

Two more questions remain to be briefly noticed : (1) What 
days are referred to in verse 13 ? (2) What is meant by Daniel's 
standing in his lot ? Those who claim that the days are the 
1335, are led to that application by looking back no further 
than to the preceding verse, where the 1335 days are men- 
tioned; whereas, in making an application of these days so in- 
definitely introduced, the whole scope of the prophecy should 
- certainly be taken in from chapter 8. Chapters 9, 10, 11, 
and 12 are clearly a continuation and explanation of the vision 
of chapter 8; hence we may say that in the vision of chapter 8, 
as carried out and explained, there are four prophetic periods; 
namely, the 2300, 1260, 1290, and 1335 days. The first is the 
principal and longest period; the others are but intermediate 
parts and subdivisions of this. Now, when the angel tells 
Daniel, at the conclusion of his instructions, that he shall stand 
in his lot at the end of the days, without specifying which 
period w T as meant, would not Daniel's mind naturally turn to 
the principal and longest period, the 2300 days, rather than to 
any of its subdivisions ? If this is so, the 2300 are the days 
intendedo The reading of the Septuagint seems to look very 
plainly in this direction : " But go thy way and rest; for there 
are yet days and seasons to the full accomplishment [of these 
things] ; and thou shalt stand in thy lot at the end of the days. ' ' 
This certainly carries the mind back to the long period contained 
in the first vision, in relation to which the subsequent instruc- 
tions were given. 

The 2300 days, as has been already shown, terminated in 
1844, and brought us to the cleansing of the sanctuary. How 
did Daniel at that time stand in his lot ? Answer : In the 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 12, 13. 



317 



person of his Advocate, our great High Priest, as he presents 
the cases of the righteous for acceptance to his Father. The 
word here translated lot does not mean a piece of real estate, 
a ' 1 lot " of land, but the ' ' decisions of chance, 1 ' or the ' ' deter- 
minations of Providence." At the end of the days, the lot, so 
to speak, was to be cast. In other words, a determination was 
to be made in reference to those who should be accounted worthy 
of a possession in the heavenly inheritance. And when Daniel's 
case comes up for examination, he is found righteous, stands in 
his lot, is assigned a place in the heavenly Canaan. Does not 
the psalmist refer to this time and event, when he says 
(Ps.l : 5), " The ungodly shall not stand in the Judgment" \ 

When Israel was about to enter into the promised land, 
the lot was cast, and the possession of each tribe was assigned. 
The tribes thus stood in their respective ' ' lots ' ' long before 
they entered upon the actual possession of the land. The time 
of the cleansing of the sanctuary corresponds to this period 
of Israel's history. We now stand upon the borders of the 
heavenly Canaan, and decisions are being made, assigning to 
some a place in the eternal kingdom, and barring others for- 
ever therefrom. In the decision of his case, Daniel's portion 
in the celestial inheritance will be made sure to him. And 
with him all the faithful will also stand. And when this 
devoted servant of God, who filled up a long life with the no- 
blest deeds of service to his Maker, though cumbered with 
the weightiest cares of this life, shall enter upon his reward 
for well-doing, we too may enter with him into rest. 

We draw the study of this prophecy to a close, with the 
remark that it has been with no small degree of satisfaction that 
we have spent what time and study we have on this wonderful 
prophecy, and in contemplating the character of this most be- 
loved of men and most illustrious of prophets. God is no 
respecter of persons; and a reproduction of Daniel's character 
will secure the divine favor as signally even now. Let us 
emulate his virtues, that we, like him, may have the approba- 
tion of God while here, and dwell amid the creations of his 
infinite glory in the long hereafter. 



espouse #f Htstotp 
to 

Tl^c Hcuclnttan 



JOHN WRITING THE REVELATION. 

' What thou seest, write in a book."— Rev. i 




jgpj?HE Revelation, usually termed "The Apocalypse," from 
its Greek name, ' AnoK&Avfis, meaning 44 a disclosure, a. 
%J£ revelation," has been described to be " a panorama of 
the glory of Christ." In the Evangelists we have the record 
of his humiliation, his condescension, his toil and sufferings, 
his patience, his mockings and scourgings by those who should 
have done him reverence, and finally his death upon the shame- 
ful cross, — a death esteemed in that age to be the most igno- 
minious that men could inflict. In the Revelation we have the 
gospel of his enthronement in glory, his association with the 
Father upon the throne of universal dominion, his overruling 
providence among the nations of the earth, and his coming 
again, not a homeless stranger, but in power and great glory, 
to punish his enemies and reward his followers. ' ' A voice 
has cried in the wilderness, 'Behold the Lamb of God;' a 
voice will soon proclaim from heaven, ' Behold the Lion of the 
tribe of Judah ! ' " 

Scenes of glory surpassing fable are unvailed before us in 
this book. Appeals of unwonted power bear down upon the 
impenitent from its sacred pages in threatenings of judgment 
that have no parallel in any other portion of the book of God. 
Consolation which no language can describe is here given to 
the humble followers of Christ in this lower world, in glorious 
views of Him upon whom help for them has been laid, — Him 
21 [321] 



322 



THE REVELATION. 



who has the key of David, who he ids his ministers in his own 
right hand, who, though he was once dead, is now alive for- 
evermore, and assures us that he is the triumphant possessor 
of the keys of death and of the grave, and who has given to 
every overcomer the multiplied promise of walking with him 
in white, having a crown of life, partaking of the fruit of the 
tree of life which grows in the midst of the paradise of God, 
and being raised up to sit with him upon his own glorious 
throne. No other book takes us at once, and so irresistibly, 
into another sphere. Long vistas are here opened before us, 
which are bounded by no terrestrial objects, but carry us for- 
ward into other worlds. And if ever themes of thrilling and 
impressive interest, and grand and lofty imagery, and sublime 
and magnificent description, can invite the attention of man- 
kind, then the Revelation invites us to a careful study of its 
pages, which urge upon our notice the realities of a momentous 
future and an unseen world. 




beloncj \Jr\lQ 
\J6 and to il 
ov/r children 

forever,,,,!! 




^p#HE book of the Revelation opens with the announcement 
^jife of its title, and with a benediction on those who shall 
A gi ye diligent heed to its solemn prophetic utterances, as 
follows : — 



Verse 1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, 
to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass ; and 
he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John : 2. Who bare 
record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of 
all things that he saw. 3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear 
the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written 
therein : for the time is at hand. 



The Title. — The translators of our common version of the 
Bible have given this book the title of ' ' The Revelation of St. 
John the Divine." In this they contradict the very first words 
of the book itself, which declare it to be li The Revelation of 
Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ is the Revelator, not John. John 
is but the penman employed by Christ to write out this Revela- 
tion for the benefit of his church. There is no doubt that the 
John here mentioned is the person of that name who was the 
beloved and highly favored one among the twelve apostles. 
He was evangelist and apostle, and the writer of the Gospel 
and epistles which bear his name. (See Clarke, Barnes, Kitto, 
Pond, and others. ) To his previous titles he now adds that of 
prophet; for the Revelation is a prophecy. But the matter of 

[323] 



324 



THE REVELATION. 



this book is traced back to a still higher source. It is not. only 
the Revelation of Jesus Christ, but it is the Revelation which 
God gave unto him. It comes, then, first, from the great 
fountain of all wisdom and truth, God the Father; by him it 
was communicated to Jesus Christ, the Son; and Christ sent 
and signified it by his angel to his servant John. 

The Character of the Book. — This is expressed in one- 
word, "Revelation. 1 ' A revelation is something revealed, 
something clearly made known, not something hidden and con- 
cealed. Moses, in Deut. 29: 29, tells us that "the secret 
things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which 
are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever. ' ' The 
very title of the book, then, is a sufficient refutation of the 
popular opinion of to-day, that this book is among the. hid- 
den mysteries of God, and cannot be understood. Were this 
the case, it should bear some such title as "The Mystery," 
or "The Hidden Book;" certainly not that of "The Reve- 
lation. ' ' 

Its Object. — "To show unto his servants things which 
must shortly come to pass." His servants — who are they? 
Is there any limit 1 For whose benefit was the Revelation 
given 3 Was it given for any specified persons ? for any par- 
ticular churches ? for any special period of time? — No; it is 
for all the church in all time, so long as any of the events 
therein predicted remain to be accomplished. It is for all 
those who can claim the appellation of ' ' his servants, ' ' where- 
ever or whenever they may live. 

But this language brings up again the common view that 
the Revelation is not to be understood. God says that it was 
given to show something to his servants; and yet many of the 
expounders of his word tell us that it does not show anything, 
because no man can understand it ! as though God would un- 
dertake to make known to mankind some important truths, 
and yet fall into the worse than earthly folly of clothing them 
in language or in figures which human minds could not com- 
prehend ! as though he would command a person to behold 
some distant object, and then erect an impenetrable barrier be- 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 1-3. 



325 



tween him and the object specified ! or as though he would 
give his servants a light to guide them through the gloom of 
night, and yet throw over that light a pall so thick and heavy 
that not a ray of its brightness could penetrate the obscuring 
folds ! How do they dishonor God who thus trifle with his 
word ! No; the Revelation will accomplish the object for 
which it was given, and " his servants " will learn therefrom 
' ' the things which must shortly come to pass, ' ' and which con- 
cern their eternal salvation. 

His Angel. — Christ sent and made known the Revelation 
to John by " his angel." A particular angel seems here to be 
brought to view. What angel could appropriately be called 
Christ's angel ? May we not find an answer to this question 
in a significant passage in the prophecy of Daniel % In Dan. 
10 : 21, an angel, which was doubtless Gabriel (see Daniel, 
chapters 9, 10, and 11 : 1), in making known some important 
truths to Daniel, said, ' 4 There is none that holdeth with me in 
these things, but Michael your prince." Who Michael is we 
easily learn. Jude (verse 9) calls him the "archangel." And 
Paul tells us that when the Lord descends from heaven, and 
the dead in Christ are raised, the voice of the archangel shall 
be heard. 1 Thess. 1:16. And whose voice will be heard at 
that amazing hour when the dead are called to life % The Lord 
himself replies, "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming 
in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice" 
(John 5 : 28); and the previous verse shows that the one here 
referred to, whose voice will then be heard, is the Son of man, 
or Christ. It is the voice of Christ, then, that calls the dead 
from their graves. That voice, Paul declares, is the voice 
of the archangel; and Jude says that the archangel is called 
Michael, the very personage mentioned in Daniel, and all re- 
ferring to Christ. The statement in Daniel, then, is, that the 
truths to be revealed to Daniel were committed to Christ, and 
confined exclusively to him, and to an angel whose name was 
Gabriel. Similar to the work of communicating important 
truth to the " beloved prophet " is the work of Christ in the 
Revelation of communicating important truth to the i 1 beloved 



326 



THE REVELATION. 



disciple ; ' ' and who, in this work, can be his angel but he who 
was engaged with him in the former work, that is, the angel 
Gabriel ? This fact will throw light on some points in this 
book, while it would also seem most appropriate that the same 
being who was employed to carry messages to the u beloved" 
prophet of the former dispensation, should perform the same 
office for him who corresponds to that prophet in the gospel 
age. (See on chapter 19 : 10.) 

The Benediction. — "Blessed is he that readeth, and they 
that hear the words of this prophecy." Is there so direct and 
formal a blessing pronounced upon the reading and observance 
of any other portion of the word of God ? What encourage- 
ment, then, have we for its study ! And shall we say that it 
cannot be understood ? Is a blessing offered for the study of a 
book which it can do us no good to study ? Men may assert, 
with more pertness than piety, that 4 ' every age of declension 
is marked by an increase of commentaries on the Apocalypse," 
or that ' 1 the study of the Revelation either finds or leaves a 
man mad;" but God has pronounced his blessing upon it, he 
has set the seal of his approbation to an earnest study of its 
marvelous pages; and with such encouragement from such a 
source, the child of God will be unmoved by a thousand feeble 
counterblasts from men. 

Every fulfilment of prophecy brings its duties; hence there 
are things in the Revelation to be kept, or performed; practical 
duties to be entered upon as the result of the accomplishment 
of the prophecy. A notable instance of this kind may be seen 
in chapter 11 : 12, where it is said, "Here are they that keep 
the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 

But says John, " The time is at hand, " — another motive 
offered for the study of this book. It becomes more and more 
important, as we draw near the great consummation. On this 
point we offer the impressive thoughts of another : ' ' The im- 
portance of studying the Apocalypse increases with the lapse 
of time. Here are ' things which must shortly come to pass. ■ 
Even when John bare record of the word of God, and of the 
testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw, the 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 4-6. 



327 



long period within which those successive scenes were to be 
realized was at hand. If proximity then constituted a motive 
for heeding those contents, how much more does it now S 
Every revolving century, every closing year, adds to the 
urgency with which attention is challenged to the concluding 
portion of Holy Writ. And does not that intensity of devo- 
tion to the present, which characterizes our times and our 
country, enhance the reasonableness of this claim ? Never, 
surely, was there a period when some mighty counteracting 
power was more needed. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, duly 
studied, supplies an appropriate corrective influence. Would 
that all Christians might, in fullest measure, receive the bless- 
ing of 'them that hear the words of this prophecy, and that 
keep the things which are written therein; for the time is at 
hand. ' " — Thompson' ] s Patmos, pp. 28, 29. 

The Dedication. — Following the benediction, we have the 
dedication, in these words : — 

Verse 4. John to the seven churches which are in Asia ; Grace be 
unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to 
come ; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne ; 5. And 
from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of 
the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved 
us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. 6. And hath made us 
kings and priests unto God and his Father ; to him be glory and dominion 
forever and ever. Amen. 

The Churches in Asia. — There were more churches in Asia 
than seven. We may confine ourselves to that western frac- 
tion of Asia known as Asia Minor, or we may include still less 
territory than that; for in even that small portion of Asia 
Minor where were situated the seven churches which are men- 
tioned, and right in their very midst, there were other impor- 
tant churches. Colosse, to the Christians of which place Paul 
addressed his epistle to the Colossians, was but a slight dis- 
tance from Laodicea. Miletus was nearer than any of the 
seven to Patmos, where John had his vision; and it was an 
important station for the church, as we may judge from the 
fact that Paul, during one of his stays there, sent for the elders 
of the church of Ephesus to meet him at that place. Acts 20 : 



328 



THE REVELATION. 



17-38. At the same - place he also left, in good Christian 
hands no doubt, Trophimus, his disciple, sick. 2 Tim. 4 : 20. 
And Troas, where Paul spent a season with the disciples, and 
whence, having waited till the Sabbath was past, he started off 
upon his journey, was not far removed from Pergamos, named 
among the seven. It becomes, therefore, an interesting ques- 
tion to determine why seven of the churches of Asia Minor 
were selected as the ones to which the Revelation should be 
dedicated. Does what is said of the seven churches in chapter 
1, and to them in chapters 2 and 3, have reference solely to 
the seven literal churches named, describing things only as 
they then and there existed, and portraying what was before 
them alone? We cannot so conclude, for the following rea- 
sons : — 

1. The entire book of Revelation (see chapter 1 : 3, 11, 19; 
. 22 : 18, 19) was dedicated to the seven churches. Yerse 11. 

But the book was no more applicable to them than to other 
Christians in Asia Minor, — those, for instance, who dwelt 
in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia, addressed in 
1 Peter 1:1; or the Christians of Colosse, Troas, and Miletus, 
in the very midst of the churches named. 

2. Only a small portion of the book could have personally 
concerned the seven churches, or any of the Christians of 
John's day; for the events it brings to view were mostly so 
far in the future as to lie beyond the lifetime of the generation 
then living, or even the time 4 during which those churches 
would continue ; and consequently they could have no personal 
connection with them. 

3. The seven stars which the Son of man held in his right 
hand (verse 20), are declared to be the angels of the seven 
churches. The angels of the churches, doubtless all will agree, 
are the ministers of the churches. Their being held in the 
right hand of the Son of man denotes the upholding power, 
guidance, and protection vouchsafed to them. But there were 
only seven of them in his right hand. And are there only 
seven thus cared for by the great Master of assemblies ? May 
not, rather, all the true ministers of the whole gospel age de- 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 4-6. 



329 



rive from this representation the consolation of knowing that 
they are upheld and guided by the right hand of the great 
Head of the church ? Such would seem to be the only consist- 
ent conclusion. 

4. Again, John, looking into the Christian dispensation, 
saw only seven candlesticks, representing seven churches, in 
the midst of which stood the Son of man. The position of the 
Son of man in their midst must denote his presence with them, 
his watchcare over them, and his searching scrutiny of all their 
works. But does he thus take cognizance of only seven indi- 
vidual churches in this dispensation \ May we not rather con- 
clude that this scene represents his position in reference to all 
his churches during the gospel age ( Then why were only 
seven mentioned ? Seven, as used in the Scriptures, is a 
number denoting fulness and completeness, being, doubtless, a 
kind of memorial of the great facts of the first seven days of 
time, which gave the world the still used weekly cycle. Like 
the seven stars, the seven candlesticks must denote the whole 
of the things which they represent. The whole gospel church in 
seven divisions, or periods, must be symbolized by them; and 
hence the seven churches must be applied in the same manner. 

5. Why, then, were the seven particular churches chosen 
that are mentioned ? For the reason, doubtless, that in the 
names of these churches, according to the definitions of the 
words, are brought out the religious features of those periods 
of the gospel age which they respectively were to represent. 

For these reasons, "the seven churches' ' are doubtless to 
be understood to mean not merely the seven literal churches of 
Asia which went by the names mentioned, but seven periods 
of the Christian church, from the days of the apostles to the 
close of probation. (See on chapter 2, verse 1.) 

The Source of Blessing. — " From him which is, and which 
was, and which is to come," or is to be, — an expression -which 
signifies complete eternity, past and future, and can be appli- 
cable to God the Father only. This language, we believe, is 
never applied to Christ. He is spoken of as another person, in 
distinction from the being thus described. 



330 



THE REVELATION. 



The Seven Spirits. — This expression probably has no ref- 
erence to angels, but to the Spirit of God. It is one of the 
sources from which grace and peace are invoked for the church. 
On the interesting subject of the seven spirits, Thompson re- 
marks : "That is, from the Holy Spirit, denominated 'the 
seven spirits,' because seven is a sacred and perfect number; 
not thus named as denoting interior plurality, but the fulness 
and perfection of his gifts and operations." Barnes says, 
" The number seven, therefore, may have been given by the 
Holy Spirit with reference to the diversity or the fulness of his 
operations on the souls of men, and to his manifold agency in 
the affairs of the world, as further developed in this book." 
Bloomfield gives this as the general interpretation. 

His Throne. — The throne of God the Father; for Christ 
has not yet taken his own throne. The seven spirits being be- 
. fore the throne ' ' may be intended to designate the fact that 
the Divine Spirit is ever ready to be sent forth, in accordance 
with a common representation in the Scriptures, to accomplish 
important purposes in human affairs." 

And from Jesus Christ. — Then Christ is not the person 
who, in the verse before, is designated as "him which is, and 
which was, and which is to come. ' ' Some of the chief charac- 
teristics which pertain to Christ are here mentioned. He is, — 

The Faithful Witness. — "Whatever he bears witness to is 
true. Whatever he promises, he will surely fulfil. 

The First Begotten of the Dead. — This expression is paral- 
lel to 1 Cor. 15 : 20, 23; Heb. 1:6; Kom. 8 : 29; and Col. 1 : 
15, 18, where we find such expressions applied to Christ as 
' ' the first-fruits of them that slept, " ' 1 the first-born among 
many brethren," "the first-born of every creature," and "the 
first-born from the dead. 1 ' But these expressions do not neces- 
sarily denote that he was the first in point of time to be raised 
from fehe dead; for others were raised before him. That would 
be a very unimportant point; but he was the chief and central 
figure of all who have come up from the grave; for it was by 
virtue of Christ's coming, work, and resurrection, that any were 
raised before his time. In the purpose of God, he was the 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 4-6. 



331 



first in point of time as well as in importance; for it was not 
till after the purpose of Christ's triumph over the grave was 
formed in the mind of God, who calleth those things that be 
not as though they were (Rom. 4 : 17), that any were released 
from the power of death, by virtue of that great fact which was 
in due time to be accomplished. Christ is therefore called the 
"first-begotten of the dead" (chapter 1:5), the "first-fruits 
of them that slept" (1 Cor. 15: 20), the "first-born among 
many brethren" (Rom. 8 : 29), and "the first-born from the 
dead." Col. 1 : 18. In Acts 26 : 23 he is spoken of as " the 
first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto 
the people," or the first who by rising from the dead should 
show light unto the people. (See the Greek of this passage, 
and Bloomfield's note thereon; also Here and Hereafter, chap- 
ter 17.) 

The Prince of the Kings of the Earth. — Christ is Prince 
of earthly kings in a certain sense now. Paul informs us, in 
Eph. 1 : 20, 21, that he has been set at the right hand of God 
in the heavenly places, ' ' far above all principality, and power, 
and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not 
only in this world, but also in that which is to come." The 
highest names named in this world, are the princes, kings, em- 
perors, and potentates of earth. But Christ is placed far above 
them. He is seated with his Father upon the throne of uni- 
versal dominion (chapter 3 : 21), and ranks equally with him 
in the overruling and controlling of the affairs of all the 
nations of the earth. 

In a more particular sense, Christ is to be Prince of the 
kings of the earth when he takes his own throne, and the king- 
doms of this world become the ' ' kingdoms of our Lord and of his 
Christ, ' ' when they are given by the Father into his hands, and 
he comes forth bearing upon his vesture the title of ' ' King of 
kings and Lord of lords, " to dash them in pieces like a potter's 
vessel. Chapter 19 : 16; 2 : 27 ; Ps. 2 : 8, 9. 

Unto Him that Loved Us. — We have thought that earthly 
friends loved us, — a father, a mother, brothers and sisters, or 
bosom friends, — but we see that no love is worthy of the name 



332 



THE REVELATION. 



compared with the love of Christ for us. And the following 
sentence adds intensity of meaning to the previous words: 
" And washed us from our sins in his own blood." "What 
love is this! "Greater love," says the apostle, "hath no man 
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." But 
Christ has commended his love to us, in that he died for us 
u while we were yet sinners." But more than this — " Hath 
made us kings and priests unto God and his Father. ' ' From be- 
ing leprous with sin, we are made clean in his sight ; from being 
enemies, we are not only made friends, but raised to positions 
of honor and' dignity. This cleansing, and this kingly and 
priestly exaltation — to what state do they pertain ? to the pres- 
ent or the future % — Chiefly to the future ; for it is then only 
that we shall enjoy these blessings in the highest degree. 
Then, after the atonement has been accomplished, we are abso- 
lutely free from our sins; before that time they are pardoned 
only on condition, and blotted out only by anticipation. But 
when the saints are permitted to sit with Christ on his throne, 
according to the promise to the victorious Laodiceans, when 
they take the kingdom under the whole he*aven and reign for- 
ever and ever, they will be kings in a sense that they never 
can be in this present state. Yet enough is true of our present 
condition to make this cheering language appropriate in the 
Christian's present song of joy; for here we are permitted to 
say that we have redemption through his blood, though that 
redemption is not yet given, and that we have eternal life, 
though that life is still in the hands of the Son, to be brought 
unto us at his appearing; and it is still true, as it was in the 
days of John and Peter, that God designs his people in this 
world to be unto him a chosen generation, a royal (kingly) 
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. 1 Peter 2:9; 
Rev. 3 : 21; Dan. 7 : 18, 27. No wonder the loving and be- 
loved disciple ascribed to this Being who has done so much for 
us, glory and dominion, forever and ever. And let all the 
church join in this most fitting ascription to their greatest bene- 
factor and dearest friend. 



CHAPTER 1, VERSE 7. 



333 



Verse 7. Behold, he cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall see 
him, and they also which pierced him : and all kindreds of the earth shall 
wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 

He Cometh with Clouds. — Here John carries us forward to 
the second advent of Christ in glory, the climax and crowning 
event of his intervention in behalf of this fallen world. Once 
he came in weakness, now he comes in power; Once in humil- 
ity, now in glory. He comes in clouds, in like manner as he 
ascended. Acts 1 : 9, 11. 

His Coming Visible. — " Every eye shall see him; " that is, 
all who are alive at the time of his coming. We know of no 
personal coming of Christ that shall be as the stillness of mid- 
night, or take place only in the desert or the secret chamber. 
He comes not as a thief in the sense of stealing in stealthily 
and quietly upon the world, and purloining goods to which he 
has no right. But he comes to take to himself his dearest 
treasure, his sleeping and living saints, whom he has purchased 
with his own precious blood; whom he has wrested from the 
power of death in fair and open conflict; and for whom his 
coming will be no less open and triumphant too. It will be 
with the brilliancy and splendor of the lightning as it shines 
from the east to the west. Matt. 24 : 27. It will be with 
a sound of a trumpet that shall pierce to earth's lowest depths, 
and with a mighty voice that shall wake the sainted sleepers 
from their dusty beds. Matt. 24 : 31, margin; 1 Thess. 4 : 16. 
He will come upon the wicked as a thief, only because they 
persistently shut their eyes to the tokens of his approach, and 
will not believe the declarations of his word that he is at the 
door. To represent two comings, a private and a public one, 
in connection with the second advent, as some do, is wholly 
unwarranted in the Scriptures. 

And They also which Pierced Him. — They also (in addi- 
tion to the ' ' every eye, ' ' before mentioned) who were chiefly 
concerned in the tragedy of his death; they shall behold him 
returning to earth in triumph and glory. But how is this % 
They are not now living, and how, then, shall they behold 



334 



THE REVELATION. 



him when he comes ? Answer : By a resurrection from the 
dead; for this is the only possible avenue to life to those who 
have once been laid in the grave. But how is it that these 
wicked persons come up at this time ? for the general resurrec- 
tion of the wicked does not take place till a thousand years 
after the second advent. Chapter 20 : 1-6. On this point 
Daniel informs us. He says (chapter 12 : 1, 2): — 

' ' And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince 
which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall 
be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation 
even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be 
delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall 
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and ever- 
lasting contempt. ' ' 

Here a partial resurrection is brought to view, or a resur- 
rection of a certain class of each, righteous and wicked, before 
the general resurrection of either class. Many, not all, that 
sleep shall awake. Some of the righteous, not all of them, 
to everlasting life, and some of the wicked, not all of them, to 
shame and everlasting contempt. And this resurrection tran- 
spires in connection with the great time of trouble such as never 
was, which just precedes the coming of the Lord. May not 
"they also which pierced him," be among those who then 
come up to shame and everlasting contempt ? What could be 
more appropriate, so far as human minds can judge, than that 
those who took part in the scene of our Lord^s greatest humilia- 
tion, and other special leaders in crime against him, should be 
raised to behold his terrible majesty, as he comes forth tri- 
umphantly, in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that 
know not God, and obey not his gospel? (See Dan. 12 : 2. ) 

The Church' 1 's Response. — "Even so, Amen." Though this 
coming of Christ is to the wicked a scene of terror and destruc- 
tion, it is to the righteous a scene of joy and triumph. " When 
the world's distress comes, then the saints' rest comes." That 
coming which is with flaming fire, and for the purpose of taking 
vengeance on the wicked, is to recompense rest to all them 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 8, 9. 



335 



that believe. 2 Thess. 1 : 6-10. Every friend and lover of 
Christ will hail every declaration and every token of his re- 
turn as glad tidings of great joy. 

Verse 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, 
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Al- 
mighty. 

Here another speaker is introduced. Previous to this, John 
has been the speaker. But this verse has no connection with 
what precedes nor with what follows. Who it is who here 
speaks must be determined, therefore, by the terms used. Here 
we again have the expression, ' ' Which is, and which was, and 
which is to come, ' ' which has already been noticed as referring 
exclusively to God. But it may be asked, Does not the word 
Lord denote that it was Christ ? On this point Barnes has the 
following note: "Many MSS. instead of ' Lord,' Kvgtog, read 
4 God, ' #eof, and this reading is adopted by Griesbach, Tittman, 
and Hahn, and is now regarded as the correct reading." 
Bloomfield supplies the word God, and marks the words 4 ' the 
beginning and the ending " as an interpolation. Thus appro- 
priately closes the first principal division of this chapter, with a 
revelation of himself by the great God as a being of an eternity 
of existence, past and future, and of almighty power, and hence 
able to perform all his threatenings and his promises, which he 
has given us in this book. 

Verse 9. I John, who also am your brother, and companion in 
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the 
isle, that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of 
Jesus Christ. 

The subject here changes, John introducing the place and 
the circumstances under which the Revelation was given. He 
first sets himself forth as a brother of the universal church, 
and their companion in the tribulations incident to the Chris- 
tian profession in this life. 

And in. the Kingdom. — These words have been the occa- 
sion of no little controversy. Does John really mean to say that 
Christians in the present state are in the kingdom of Christ, or 



336 



THE REVELATION. 



in other words, that in his day Christ's kingdom had already 
been set up ? If this language has any reference to the present 
state, it must be in a very limited and accommodated sense. 
Those who take the ground that it has its application here, 
usually refer to 1 Peter 2 : 9 to prove the existence of a kingdom 
in the present state, and to show its nature. But, as was re- 
marked on verse 6, the literal reign of the saints is yet future. 
It is through much tribulation that we are to enter into the 
kingdom of God. Acts 14 : 22. But when the kingdom is en- 
tered, the tribulation is done. The tribulation and the king- 
dom do not exist contemporaneously. Murdock's translation 
of the Syriac of this verse omits the word kingdom, and reads 
as follows : "I John, your brother, and partaker with you in 
the affliction and suffering that are in Jesus the Messiah." 
Wakefield translates : "I John, your brother, and sharer with 
. you in enduring the affliction of the kingdom of Jesus Christ." 
Bloomfield says that by the words tribulation and patience 
' ' are denoted afflictions and troubles to be endured for the sake, 
and in the cause of Christ; and fiaalda [kingdom] intimates 
that he is to be partaker with them in the kingdom prepared 
for them. ' 5 He says that ' ' the best comment on this passage 
is 2 Tim. 2 : 12," which reads : 4 'If we suffer, we shall also 
reign with liim. " From all which we may safely conclude 
that though there is a kingdom of grace in the present state, 
the kingdom to which John alluded is the future kingdom of 
glory, and the suffering and patience are preparatory to its 
enjoyment. 

The Place. — The isle that is called Patmos, — a small, bar- 
ren island off the west coast of Asia Minor, between the island 
of Icaria and the promontory of Miletus, where in John's day 
was located the nearest Christian church. It is about eight 
miles in length, one in breadth, and eighteen in circumference. 
Its present name is Patino or Patmosa. The coast is high, and 
consists of a succession of capes, which form many ports. The 
only one now in use is a deep bay sheltered by high mountains 
on every side but one, where it is protected by a projecting 
cape. The town attached to this port is situated upon a high, 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 8, 9. 



337 



rocky mountain rising immediately from the sea, and is the 
only inhabited site of the island. About half way up the 
mountain on which this town is built, there is shown a natural 
grotto in the rock, where tradition will have it that John had 
his vision and wrote the Revelation. On account of the stern 
and desolate character of this island, it was used, under the 
Roman empire, as a place of banishment, which accounts for 
the exile of John thither. The banishment of the apostle took 
place about the year a. d. 94, as is generally supposed, under 
the emperor Domitian ; and from this fact the date assigned to 
the writing of the Revelation is a. d. 95 or 96. 

The Cause of Banishment. — " For the word of God, and 
for the testimony of Jesus Christ." This was John's high 
crime and misdemeanor. The tyrant Domitian, who was then 
invested with the imperial purple of Rome, more eminent for 
his vices than even for his civil position, quailed before this 
aged but dauntless apostle. He dared not permit the promul- 
gation of his pure gospel within the bounds of his kingdom. 
He exiled him to lonely Patmos, where, if anywhere this side 
of death, he might be said to be out of the world. Having 
confined him to that barren spot, and to the cruel labor of the 
mines, the emperor doubtless thought that this preacher of 
righteousness was finally disposed of, and that the world would 
hear no more of him. So, doubtless, thought the persecutors 
of John Bunyan when they had shut him up in Bedford jail. 
But when man thinks he has buried the truth in eternal ob- 
livion, the Lord gives it a resurrection in tenfold glory and 
power. From Bunyan's dark and narrow cell there blazed 
forth a spiritual light, which, next to the Bible itself, has built 
up the interests of the gospel; and from the barren Isle of 
Patmos, where Domitian thought he had forever extinguished 
at least one torch of truth, there arose the most magnificent 
revelation of all the sacred canon, to shed its divine luster over 
the whole Christian world till the end of time. And how many 
will revere the name of the beloved disciple, and hang with 
delight upon his enrapturing visions of heavenly glory, who 
will never learn the name of the monster who caused his ban- 



338 



THE REVELATION. 



ishmen-t. Yerily, those words of the Scriptures are sometimes 
applicable, even to the present life, which declare that 6 4 the 
righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance, ' ' but ' 4 the 
name of the wicked shall rot." 

Verse 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind 
me a great voice, as of a trumpet. 

In the Spirit. — Exiled though John was from all of like 
faith, and almost from the world, he was not exiled from God, 
nor from Christ, nor from the Holy Spirit, nor from angels. 
He still had communion with his divine Lord. And the ex- 
pression ' ' in the Spirit ' ' seems to denote the highest state of 
spiritual elevation into which a person can be brought by the 
Spirit of God. It marked the commencement of his vision. 

On the Lord? 8 Day. — What day is intended by this desig- 
nation ? On this question four different positions are taken by 
different classes. 1. One class hold that the expression "the 
Lord's day " covers the whole gospel dispensation, and does not 
mean any particular twenty-four-hour day. 2. Another class 
hold that the Lord's day is the day of Judgment, the future 
" day of the Lord," so often brought to view in the Scriptures. 
3. The third view, and the one perhaps the most prevalent, 
is that the expression refers to the first day of the week. 4. 
Still another class hold that it means the seventh day, the Sab- 
bath of the Lord. 

1. To the first of these positions it is sufficient to reply that 
the book of Revelation is dated by the writer, John, in the Isle 
of Patmos, and upon the Lord's day. The writer, the place 
where it was written, and the day upon which it was dated, 
have each a real existence, and not merely a symbolical or 
mystical one. But if we say that the day means the gospel 
dispensation, we give it a symbolical or mystical meaning, 
which is not admissible. Besides, this position involves the 
absurdity of making John say, sixty-five years after the death 
of Christ, that the vision which he records was seen by him in 
the gospel dispensation, as though any Christian could possibly 
be ignorant of that fact ! 



CHAPTER 1, VERSE 10. 



339 



2. The second position, that it is the day of Judgment, can- 
not be correct; for while John might have had a vision con- 
cerning the day of Judgment, he could not have had one on 
that day when it is yet future. The word translated on is 
kv (en), and is defined by Robinson when relating to time, as 
follows: ''Time when ; a definite point or period, in, during, 
on, at, which anj'thing takes place." It never means about or 
concerning. Hence they who refer it to the Judgment day 
either contradict the language used, making it mean concern- 
ing instead of on, or they make John state a strange falsehood, 
by saying that he had a vision upon the Isle of Patmos, nearly 
eighteen hundred years ago, on the day of Judgment which is 
yet future! 

3. The third view is that by " Lord's day " is meant the first 
day of the week, a view by far the most generally entertained. 
On this we inquire for the proof. What evidence have we for 
this assertion ? The text itself does not define the term Lord's 
day ; hence if it means the first day of the week we must look 
elsewhere in the Bible for the proof that that day of the week 
is ever so designated. The only other inspired writers who 
speak of the first day at all, are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 
Paul ; and they speak of it simply as ' ' the first day of the week. ' ' 
They never speak of it in a manner to distinguish it above any 
other of the six working days. And this is the more remark- 
able, viewed from the popular standpoint, as three of them 
speak of it at the very time when it is said to have become the 
Lord's day by the resurrection of the Lord upon it, and two of 
them mention it some thirty years after that event. 

If it is said that the term "Lord's day" was the usual 
term for the first day of the week in John's day, we ask, 
Where is the proof of this ? It cannot be found. But we 
have proof of just the contrary. (See History of the Sab- 
bath, by J. N. Andrews, published at the Review Office, 
Battle Creek, Mich.) If this was the universal designation 
of the first day at the time the Revelation was written, the 
same writer would most assuredly call it so in all his subse- 
quent writings. But John wrote the Gospel after he wrote the 



340 



THE REVELATION. 



Revelation, and yet in that Gospel he calls the first day of the 
week, not Lord's day, but simply 44 first day of the week." 
For proof that the Gospel was written at a period subsequent 
to the Revelation, the reader is referred to such standard 
authorities as the Religious Encyclopedia, Barnes's Notes 
(Gospels), Bible Dictionaries, Cottage Bible, Domestic Bible, 
Mine Explored, Union Bible Dictionary, Comprehensive Bible, 
Paragraph Bible, Bloomfield, Dr. Hales, Horne, Nevins, and 
Olshausen. 

And what still further disproves the claim here set up in 
behalf of the first day, is the fact that neither the Father nor 
the Son has ever claimed the first day as his own in any 
higher sense than he has each or any of the other laboring 
days. Neither of them has ever placed any blessing upon it, or 
attached any sanctity to it. If it was to be called the Lord's 
day from the fact of Christ's resurrection upon it, Inspiration 
would doubtless have somewhere so informed us. But there 
are other events equally essential to the plan of salvation, as, 
for instance, the crucifixion and the ascension; and in the ab- 
sence of all instruction upon the point, why not call the day 
upon which either of these occurred, the Lord's day, as well as 
the day upon which he rose from the dead? 

4. The three positions already examined having been dis- 
proved,, the fourth — that by Lord's day is meant the Sabbath 
of the Lord — now demands attention. And this of itself is 
susceptible of the clearest proof. 1. When God gave to man 
in the beginning six days of the week for labor, he expressly 
reserved the seventh day to himself, placed his blessing upon 
it, and claimed it as his holy day. 2. Moses told Israel in the 
wilderness of Sin on the sixth day of the week, ' < To-morrow 
is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." We come to 
Sinai, where the great Lawgiver proclaimed his moral precepts 
in awful grandeur; and in that supreme code he thus lays 
claim to his hallowed day : ' ' The seventh day is the Sabbath 
of the Lord thy God: . . . for in six days the Lord made 
heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested 
the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, 



CHAPTER 1, VERSE 11. 



341 



and hallowed it. ' ' By the prophet Isaiah, about eight hundred 
years later, God spoke as follows: "If thou turn away thy 
foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy 
day, . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, ■ ' etc. 
We come down to New-Testament times, and He who is one 
with the Father declares expressly, ' ' The Son of man is Lord 
also of the Sabbath. ' ' Can any man deny that that day is the 
Lord? 8 day, of which he has emphatically declared that he is 
the Lord ? Thus we see that whether it be the Father or the 
Son whose title is involved, no other day can be called the 
Lord's day but the Sabbath of the great Creator. 

One more thought, and we leave this point. There is in 
this dispensation one day distinguished above the other days of 
the week as the Lord's day. How completely does this great 
fact disprove the claim put forth by some that there is no Sab- 
bath in this dispensation, but that all days are alike. And by 
calling it the Lord's day, the apostle has given us, near the 
close of the first century, apostolic sanction for the observance 
of the only day which can be called the Lord's day, which is 
the seventh day of the week. (See note at close of chapter.) 

Verse 11. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last : 
and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven 
churches which are in Asia ; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto 
Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, 
and unto Laodicea. 

On this verse Dr. A. Clarke remarks, "I am Alpha and 
Omega, the first and the last, and] — this whole clause is want- 
ing in ABC; thirty-one others; some editions; the Syriac, 
Coptic, ^Ethiopic, Armenian, Slavonic, Yulgate, Arethas, An- 
dreas, and Primasius. Griesbach has left it out of the text." 
He also states that the phrase "in Asia" is wanting in the 
principal MSS. and versions, and that Griesbach omits this too 
from the text. Bloomfield also marks the clause, ' ' I am 
Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and" — as without 
doubt an interpolation, and also the words ' ' in Asia. ' ' It 
would then read, ' ' Saying, What thou seest, write in a book, 



342 THE REVELATION. 

and send it unto the seven churches; unto Ephesus, " etc. 
(See translations of Whiting, Wesley, American Bible Union, 
and others. Compare remarks on verse 4.) 

Verse 12. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And 
being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13. And in the midst of 
the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a gar- 
ment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 
14. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow ; and 
his eyes were as a flame of fire ; 15. And his feet like unto fine brass, as 
if they burned in a furnace ; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 
16. And he had in his right hand seven stars : and out of his mouth 
went a sharp two-edged sword : and his countenance was as the sun 
shineth in his strength. 17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as 
dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not ; I 
am the first and the last : 18. I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and, 
behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of 
death. 

I turned to see the voice; that is, the person from whom 
the voice came. 

Seven Golden Candlesticks. — These cannot be the anti- 
type of the golden candlestick of the ancient typical temple 
service; for that was but one candlestick with seven branches. 
That is ever spoken of in the singular number. But here are 
seven; and these are more properly 4 4 lamp-stands " than simply 
candlesticks, stands upon which lamps are set to give light in 
the room. And they bear no resemblance to the ancient can- 
dlestick; on the contrary, the stands are so distinct, and so far 
separated from one another, that the Son of man is seen walk- 
ing about in the midst of them. 

The Son of Man. — The central and all-attractive figure of 
the scene now opened before John's vision is the majestic form 
of one like the Son of man, representing Christ. The descrip- 
tion here given of him, with his flowing robe, his hair white, 
not with age, but with the brightness of heavenly glory, his 
flaming eyes, his feet glowing like molten brass, and his voice 
as the sound of many waters, cannot be excelled for grandeur 
and sublimity. Overcome by the presence of this august Being, 
and perhaps under a keen sense of all human unworthiness, John 
fell at his feet as dead ; but a comforting hand is laid upon him, 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 12-20. 



343 



and a voice of sweet assurance tells him to fear not. It is 
equally the privilege of Christians to-day to feel the same hand 
laid upon them to strengthen and comfort them in hours of 
trial and affliction, and to hear the same voice saying unto 
them, < 'Fear not." 

But the most cheering assurance in all these words of con- 
solation is the declaration of this exalted one who is alive for- 
evermore, that he is the arbiter of death and the grave. < < I 
have," he says, "the keys of hell the grave) and death." 

Death is a conquered tyrant. He may ply his gloomy labors 
age after age, gathering to the grave the precious of the earth, 
and gloat for a season over his apparent triumph : but he is per- 
forming a fruitless task; for the key to his dark prison-house 
has been wrenched from his grasp, and is now held in the hands 
of a mightier than he. He is compelled to deposit his trophies 
in a region over which another has absolute control; and this 
one is the unchanging Friend and the pledged Redeemer of his 
people. Then grieve not for the righteous dead; they are in 
safe keeping. An enemy for a while takes them away; but a 
friend holds the key to the place of their temporary confine- 
ment. 

Verse 19. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things 
which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. 

A more definite command is given in this verse to John to 
write the entire Revelation, which would relate chiefly to things 
which were then in the future. In some few instances, events 
then in the past or then transpiring were referred to; but these 
references were simply for the purpose of introducing events to 
be fulfilled after that time, and so that no link in the chain 
might be lacking. 

Verse 20. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my 
right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the 
angels of the seven churches : and the seven candlesticks which thou 
sawest are the seven churches. 

To represent the Son of man as holding in his hand only 
the ministers of seven literal churches in Asia Minor, and walk- 



344 



THE REVELATION. 



ing in the midst of only those seven churches, would be to 
reduce the sublime representations and declarations of this and. 
following chapters to comparative insignificance. The provi- 
dential care and presence of the Lord are with, not a specified 
number of churches only, but all his people; not in the days of 
John merely, but through all time. "Lo! I am with you 
alway, ' ' said he to his disciples, i ' even unto the end of the 
world." (See remarks on verse 4.) 



Note. — An additional thought may be added to what is said about 
the claim that the first day of the week is meant by the term "Lord's 
day " in verse 10. If, when Christ said, " The Son of man is Lord even 
of the Sabbath day " (Matt. 12 : 8), he had said instead, " The Son of man 
is Lord of the first day of the week," would not that now be set forth as 
conclusive proof that Sunday is the Lord's day? — Certainly, and with good 
reason. Then it ought to be allowed to have the same weight for the 
seventh day, in reference to which it teas spoken. 




AVIXG, in the first chapter, mapped out the subject by 
a general reference to the seven churches, represented 
by the seven candlesticks, and to the ministry of the 
churches, represented by the seven stars, John now takes up 
each church particularly, and writes the message designed for 
it, addressing the epistle in every case to the angel, or pastors, 
of the church. , 

Verse 1. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write ; These 
things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walk- 
eth in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks : 2. I know thy works, 
and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which 
are evil : and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are 
not, and hast found them liars : 3. And hast borne, and hast patience, 
and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. 4. Never- 
theless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first 
love. 5. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, 
and do the first works ; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will 
remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6. But this 
thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also 
hate. 7. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto 
the churches : To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of 
life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 

The Church of Ephepus. — Some reasons why the seven 
churches, or more properly the messages to them, should be 
regarded as prophetic, having their application to seven distinct 
periods covering the Christian age, have been given in the 

[345] 



346 



THE REVELATION. 



remarks on chapter 1:4. It may here be added that this 
view is neither new nor local. Benson quotes Bishop Newton 
as saying, < ' Many contend, and among them such learned men 
as More and Yitringa, that the seven epistles are prophetical of 
so many successive periods, or states, of the church, from the 
beginning to the conclusion of all." 

Scott says: "Many expositors have imagined that these 
epistles to the seven churches were mystical prophecies of seven 
distinct periods, into which the whole term, from the apostles' 
days to the end of the world, would be divided." 

Although Newton and Scott do not themselves hold this 
view, their testimony is good as showing that such has been 
the view of many expositors. Matthew Henry says : — 

' ' An opinion has been held by some commentators of note, 
which may be given in the words of Yitringa : * That under 
- this emblematical representation of the seven churches of Asia, 
the Holy Spirit has delineated seven different states of the 
Christian church, which would appear in succession, extending 
to the coming of our Lord and the consummation of all things ; 
that this is given in descriptions taken from the names, states, 
and conditions of these churches, so that they might behold 
themselves, and learn both t^teir good qualities and their de- 
fects, and what admonitions and exhortations were suitable for 
them.' Yitringa has given a summary of the arguments which 
may be alleged in favor of this interpretation. Some of them 
are ingenious, but they are not now considered sufficient to sup- 
port such a theory. Gill is one of the principal of the English 
commentators who adopt this view, that ' they are prophetical 
of the churches of Christ in the several periods of time until he 
appears again.' " 

It appears from the authors above cited, that what has led 
commentators of more modern times to discard the view of the 
prophetical nature of the messages to the seven churches, is 
the comparatively recent and unscriptural doctrine of the 
temporal millennium. The last state of the church, as de- 
scribed in chapter 3 : 15-17, was deemed to be incompatible 
with the glorious state of things which would exist here on this 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 1-7. 



347 



earth for a thousand years, with all the world converted to 
God. Hence in this case, as in many others, the more Scrip- 
tural view is made to yield to the more pleasing. The hearts 
of men, as in ancient times, still love smooth things, and 
their ears are ever favorably open to those who will prophesy 
peace. 

The first church named is Ephesus. According to the ap- 
plication here made, this would cover the first, or apostolic age 
of the church. The definition of the word Ephesus, is desir- 
able, which may well be taken as a good descriptive term of 
the character and condition of the church in its first state. 
Those early Christians had received the doctrine of Christ in 
its purity. They enjoyed the benefits and blessings of the 
gifts of the Holy Spirit. They were noted for works, labor, 
and patience. In faithfulness to the pure principles taught by 
Christ, they could not bear those that were evil, and they tried 
false apostles, searched out their true characters, and found 
them liars. That this work was specially done by the literal 
and particular church at Ephesus more than by other churches 
of that time, we have no evidence; there is nothing said about 
it by Paul in the epistle he wrote to that church; but it was 
done by the Christian church as a whole, in that age, and was 
a most appropriate work at that time. (See Acts 15; 2 Cor. 
11 : 13.) 

. The Angel of the Church. — The angel of a church must 
denote a messenger, or minister, of that church; and as these 
churches each cover a period of time, the angel of each church 
must denote the ministry, or all the true ministers of Christ 
during the period covered by that church. The different mes- 
sages, though addressed to the ministers, cannot be understood 
to be applicable to them alone; but they are appropriately ad- 
dressed to the church through them. 

The Cause of Complaint. — " I have somewhat against 
thee," says Christ, "because thou hast left thy first love." 
"Not less worthy of warning than departure from fundamental 
doctrine or from Scriptural morality, is the leaving of first 
love. The charge here is not that of falling from grace, nor 



348 



THE REVELATION. 



that love is extinguished, but diminished. No zeal, no suffer- 
ing can atone' for the want of first love. ' ' — Thompson. The 
time never should come in. a- Christian's experience, when, if he 
were asked to mention the period of his greatest love to Christ, 
he would not say, The present moment. But if such a time 
does come, then should he remember from whence he is fallen, 
meditate upon it, take time for it, carefully call up the state 
of his former acceptance with God, and then hasten to repent, 
and retrace his steps to that desirable position. Love, like 
faith, is manifested by works; and first love, when it is at- 
tained, will always bring first works. 

The Threatening. — u I will come unto thee quickly, and 
remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. ' ' 
The coming here mentioned must be a figurative coming, sig- 
nifying a visitation of judgment, inasmuch as it is conditional. 
. The removing of the candlestick would denote the taking away 
from them of the light and privileges of the gospel, and com- 
mitting them to other hands, unless they should better fulfil 
the responsibilities of the trust committed to them. But it 
may be asked on the view that these messages are prophetic, 
if the candlestick would not be removed anyway, whether 
they repented or not, as that church was succeeded by the 
next, to occupy the next period, and if this is not an objection 
against regarding these churches as prophetic. Answer : The 
expiration of the period covered by any church is not the re- 
moval of the candlestick of that church. The removal of their 
candlestick would be taking away from them privileges which 
they might and should longer enjoy. It would be the rejec- 
tion of them on the part of Christ as his representatives, to 
bear the light of his truth and gospel before the world. And 
this threatening would be just as applicable to individuals as 
to the church as a body. How many who professed Chris- 
tianity during that period thus came short and were rejected, 
we know not; doubtless many. And thus things would go on, 
some remaining steadfast, some backsliding and becoming no 
longer light-bearers in the world, new converts meanwhile fill- 
ing up the vacancies made by death and apostasy, until the 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 1-7. 



3-19 



church reaches a new era in her experience, marked off as an- 
other period in her history, and covered by another message. 

The Nicolaitcmes. — How ready is Christ to commend his 
people for whatever good qualities they may possess ! If there 
is anything of which he approves, he mentions that first. And 
in this message to the church of Ephesus, having first men- 
tioned their commendable traits and then their failures, as if 
unwilling to pass by any of their good qualities he mentions 
this, that they hated the deeds of the Mcolaitanes, which he 
also hated. In verse 15 the doctrines of the same characters 
are condemned. It appears that they were a class of persons 
whose deeds and doctrines were alike abominable in the sight 
of Heaven. Their origin is involved in some doubt. Some 
say that they sprang from ^Nicolas of Antioch, one of the seven 
deacons (Acts 6:5); some, that they only attribute their origin 
to him to gain the prestige of his name; and others, that the 
sect took its name from one Nicolas of a later date, which is 
probably the nearest correct. Concerning their doctrines and 
practices, there seems to be a general agreement that they held 
to a community of wives, regarded adultery and fornication as 
things indifferent, and permitted the eating of things offered to 
idols. (See Religious Encyclopedia, Clarke, Kitto, and other 
authorities.) 

The Summons to Attention. — " He that hath an ear, let 
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." A solemn 
manner of calling universal attention to that which is of general 
and most momentous importance. The same language is used 
to each of the seven churches. Christ, when upon earth made 
use of the same form of speech in calling the attention of the 
people to the most important of his teachings. He used it in 
reference to the mission of John (Matt. 11 : 15), the parable of 
the sower (Matt. 13 : 9), and the parable of the tares, setting 
forth the end of the world. Verse 43. It is also used in 
relation to an important prophetic fulfilment in Rev. 13 : 9. 

The Promise to the Victor. — To the overcomer it is prom- 
ised that he shall eat of the tree of life that grows in the midst 
of the paradise, or garden, of God. "Where is this paradise? 



350 



THE REVELATION. 



Answer : In the third heaven. Paul writes, in 2 Cor. 12 : 2, 
that he knew a man (referring to himself) caught up to the 
third heaven. In verse 4 he calls the same place " paradise, " 
leaving only one conclusion to be drawn, which is, that para- 
dise is in the third heaven. In this paradise, it seems, is the 
tree of life. There is but one tree of life brought to view in 
the Bible. It is mentioned six times, three times in Genesis, 
and three times in the Revelation; but it is used every time 
with the definite article the. It is the tree of life in the first 
book of the Bible, the tree of life in the last; the tree of life 
in the "paradise " (Septuagint) in Eden at the beginning, and 
the tree of life in the paradise of which John now speaks, in 
heaven above. But if there is but one tree, and that was at 
first upon earth, it may be asked how it has now come to be in 
heaven. And the answer would be that it must have been 
. taken up, or translated, to the paradise above. There is no 
possible way that the same identical body which is situated in 
one place can be located in another, but by being transported 
bodily thither. And that the tree of life and paradise have 
been removed from earth to heaven, besides the necessary 
inference from this argument, there is very good reason to 
believe. 

In 2 Esdras 7 : 26 occurs this language: "Behold, the time 
shall come, that these tokens which I have told thee shall come 
to pass, and the "bride shall appear, and she coming forth shall 
be seen that now is withdrawn from the earth.' "* There is an 
evident allusion here to the "bride, the Lamb's wife" (Rev. 
21 : 9), which is the "holy city, New Jerusalem " (verse 10; 
Gal. 4 : 26), in which is the tree of life (Rev. 22 : 2), which is 
now ' < withdrawn from the earth, ' but which will in due time 
appear, and be located among men. Rev. 21 : 2, 3. 

The following paragraph on this point we quote from 
Kurtz's Sacred History, p. 50:- — - 

' ' The act of God in appointing the cherubim ' to keep the 
way of the tree of life ' (Gen. 3 : 24), in the garden of Eden, 
likewise appears not only in an aspect indicating judicial 
severity, but also in one which conveys a promise full of con- 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 8-11. 



351 



solation. The blessed abode from which man is expelled, is 
neither annihilated nor even abandoned to desolation and ruin, 
but withdrawn from the earth and from man, and consigned 
to the care of the most perfect creatures of God, in order that 
it may be ultimately restored to man when he is redeemed. 
Rev. 22 : 2. The garden, as it existed before God 'planted,' 
or adorned it, came under the curse, like the remainder of the 
earth, but the celestial and paradisaical addition was exempted, 
and entrusted to the cherubim. The true paradise is now 
translated to the invisible world. At least a symbolical copy 
of it, established in the holy of holies in the tabernacle, was 
granted to the people of Israel after the pattern which Moses 
saw in the mount (Ex. 25 : 9, 40) ; and the original itself, as 
the renewed habitation of redeemed man, will hereafter de- 
scend to the earth. Rev. 21 : 10." 

To the overcomer, then, is promised a restoration to more 
than Adam lost; not to the overcomers of that state of the 
church merely, but to all overcomers of every age; for in the 
great rewards of Heaven there are no restrictions. Reader, 
strive to be an overcomer; for he who gains access to the tree 
of life in the midst of the paradise of God, shall die no more. 

The time covered by this first church, may be considered 
the period from the resurrection of Christ, to the close of the 
first century, or to the death of the last of the apostles. 

Verse 8. And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write ; These 
things saith the first and the last, which was dead and is alive ; 9. I know 
thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know 
the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the 
synagogue of Satan. 10. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suf- 
fer : behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be 
tried ; and ye shall have tribulation ten days : be thou faithful unto death, 
and I will give thee a crown of life. 11. He that hath an ear, let him 
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall 
not be hurt of the second death. 

It will be noticed that the Lord introduces himself to each 
church by mentioning some of his characteristics which show 
him to be peculiarly fitted to bear to them the testimony which 
he utters. To the Smyrnian church, about to pass through the 



352 



THE REVELATION. 



fiery ordeal of persecution, he reveals himself as one who was 
dead, but is now alive. If they should be called to seal their 
testimony with their blood, they were to remember that the 
eyes of One were upon them who had shared the same fate, 
but had triumphed over death, and was able to bring them up 
again from a martyr's grave. 

Poverty and Riches. — 44 I know thy poverty," says Christ 
to them, 44 but thou art rich." Strange paradox this may seem 
at first. But who are the truly rich in this world ? — Those 
who are "rich in faith" and 44 heirs of the kingdom. " The 
wealth of this world, for which men so eagerly strive, and so 
often barter away present happiness and future endless life, is 
"coin not current in heaven." A certain writer has forcibly 
remarked, 44 There is many a rich poor man, and many a poor 
rich man. " 

Say They Are Jews, and Are Not. — That the term Jew is not 
here used in a literal sense, is very evident. It denotes some 
character which was approved by the gospel standard. Paul's 
language will make this point plain. He says (Rom. 2 : 28, 29): 
4 4 For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly ; neither is that 
circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew [in 
the true Christian sense] which is one inwardly; and circum- 
cision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, 
whose praise is not of men, but of God. " Again he says (chap- 
ter 9 : 6, 7): 44 For they are not all Israel which are of Israel; 
neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all 
children." In Gal. 3 : 28, 29, Paul further tells us that in 
Christ there are no such outward distinctions as Jew or Greek; 
but if we are Christ's, then are we Abraham 's seed (in the true 
sense), and heirs according to the promise. To say, as some 
do, that the term Jew is never applied to Christians, is to con- 
tradict all these inspired declarations of Paul's, and the testi- 
mony of the faithful and true Witness to the Smyrnian church. 
Some were hypocritically pretending to be Jews in this Chris- 
tian sense, when they possessed nothing of the requisite char- 
acter. Such were of the synagogue of Satan. 

Tribulation Ten Days. — As this message is prophetic, the 
time mentioned in it must also be regarded as prophetic, and 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 8-11. 



353 



would denote ten years. And it is a noticeable fact that the 
last and most bloody of the ten persecutions continued just ten 
years, under Diocletian, from a. d. 302 to a. d. 312. (See 
Buck's Theological Dictionary, pp. 332, 333.) It would be 
difficult to make an application of this language on the ground 
that these messages are not prophetic; for in that case only ten 
literal days could be meant; and it would not seem probable 
that a persecution of only ten days, on only a single church, 
would be made' a matter of prophecy; and no mention of any 
such case of limited persecution can be found. Again, apply 
this persecution to any of the notable persecutions of that 
period, and how could it be spoken of as the fate of one church 
alone? All the churches suffered in them; and where, then, 
would be the propriety of singling out one, to the exclusion of 
the rest, as alone involved in such a calamity ? 

Faithf ul unto Death. — Some have endeavored to base a 
criticism on the use of the word unto, instead of until, as 
though the idea of time was not involved. But the original 
word, w 1 , rendered unto, signifies, primarily, until. ~No ar- 
gument, however, can be drawn from this for consciousness in 
death. The vital point for such an argument is still lacking; 
for it is not affirmed that the crown of life is bestowed imme- 
diately at death. We mustf consequently look to other scrip- 
tures to learn when the crown of life is given; and other 
scriptures very fully inform us. Paul declares that this crown 
is to be given at the day of Christ's appearing (2 Tim. 4:8); 
at the last trump (1 Cor. 15:51-54); when the Lord shall 
himself descend from heaven (1 Thess. 4 : 16, 17); when the 
Chief Shepherd shall appear, says Peter (1 Pet. 5:4); at the 
resurrection of the just, says Christ (Luke 14 : 14); and when 
he shall return to take his people to the mansions prepared for 
them, that they may ever be with him. John 14 : 3. "Be 
thou faithful until death ; ' ' and having been thus faithful, 
when the time comes that the saints of God are rewarded, you 
shall receive a crown of life. 

The Overcome?' s Reioard. — " He shall not be hurt of the 
second death." Is not the language Christ here uses a good 
comment upon what he taught his disciples, when he said, 
23 



354 



THE REVELATION. 



And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to 
kill the soul : but rather fear him which is able to destroy both 
soul and body in hell"? Matt. 10:28. The Smyrnians 
might be put to death here; but the future life, which was to 
be given them, man could not take away, and God would not; 
hence they were to fear not those who could kill the body, — to 
' 4 fear none of the things which they should suffer;" for their 
eternal existence was sure. 

Smyrna signifies myrrh, fit appellation for the church of 
God while passing through the fiery furnace of persecution, 
and proving herself a u sweet-smelling savor " unto him. But 
we soon reach the days of Xonstantine, when the church pre- 
sents a new phase, rendering a far different name and another 
message applicable to her history. 

According to the foregoing application, the date of the 
Smyrnian church would be a. d. 100-323. 

Verse 12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write ; 
These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges ; 13. 
I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: 
and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in 
those days "wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain 
among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14. But I have a few things against 
thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, 
who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, 
to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15. So 
hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which 
thing I hate. 16. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and 
will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17. He that hath 
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ; To him 
that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give 
him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man 
knoweth saving he that receiveth it. 

Against the church of Smyrna, which has just been con- 
sidered, there was no word of condemnation uttered. Persecu- 
tion is ever calculated to keep the church pure, and incite its 
members to piety and godliness. But we now reach a period 
when influences began to work through which errors and evils 
were likely to creep into the church. 

The word Pergamos signifies hight, elevation. The period 
covered by this church may ba located from the days of Con- 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 12-17. 



355 



stantine, or perhaps, rather, from his professed conversion to 
Christianity, a. d. 323, to the establishment of the papacy, a. d. 
538. It was a period in which the true servants of God had 
to struggle against a spirit of worldly policy, pride, and popu- 
larity among the professed followers of Christ, and against 
the virulent workings of the mystery of iniquity, which finally 
resulted in the full development of the papal man of sin. 

Where Satan's Seat Is. — Christ takes cognizance of the un- 
favorable situation of his people during this period. The lan- 
guage is not probably designed to denote locality. As to place, 
Satan works wherever Christians dwell. But surely there are 
times and seasons when he works with special power; and the 
period covered by the church of Pergamos was one of these. 
During this period, the doctrine of Christ was being corrupted, 
the mystery of iniquity was working, and Satan was laying 
the very foundation of that most stupendous system of wicked- 
ness, the papacy. Here was the falling away foretold by Paul 
in 2 Thess. 2 : 3. 

Antipas. — That a class of persons is referred to by this 
name, and not an individual, there is good reason to believe; 
for no authentic information respecting such an individual is 
now to be found. On this point, William Miller says: — 

u It is supposed that Antipas was not an individual, but a 
class of men who opposed the power of the bishops, or popes, in 
that day, being a combination of two words, anti, opposed, and 
papas, father, or pope; and at that time many of them suffered 
martyrdom in Constantinople and Rome, where the bishops and 
popes began to exercise the power which soon after brought 
into subjection the kings of the earth, and trampled on the 
rights of the church of Christ. And for myself, I see no reason 
to reject this explanation of this word Antipas in this text, as 
the history of those times is perfectly silent respecting such an 
individual as is here named. "—Miller's Lectures, pp. 138, 139. 

Watson says, "Ancient ecclesiastical history furnishes no 
account of this Antipas." Dr. Clarke mentions a work as ex- 
tant called the 4 ' Acts of Antipas, ' ' but gives us to understand 
that it is entitled to no credit. 



356 



THE REVELATION. 



The Cause of Censure. — Disadvantages in situation are no 
excuse for wrongs in the church. Although this church lived 
at a time when Satan was especially at work, it was their duty 
to keep themselves pure from the leaven of his evil doctrines. 
Hence they were censured for harboring among them those 
who held the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitanes. (See 
remarks on the Nicolaitanes, verse 6. ) What the doctrine of 
Balaam was, is liere partially revealed. He taught Balak to 
cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel. ( See a full 
accountof his work and its results in Numbers, chapters 22-25 
and 31 : 13-16.) It appears that Balaam desired to curse Israel 
for the sake of the rich reward which Balak offered him for so 
doing. But not being permitted by the Lord to curse them, he 
resolved to accomplish essentially the same thing, though in a 
different way. He therefore counseled Balak to seduce them, 
-by means of the females of Moab, to participate in the celebra- 
tion of the rights of idolatry, and all its licentious accompani- 
ments. The plan succeeded. The abominations of idolatry 
spread through the camp of Israel, the curse of God was called 
down upon them by their sins, and there fell by the plague 
twenty-four thousand persons. 

The doctrines complained of in the church of Pergamos were 
of course similar in their tendency, leading to spiritual idolatry, 
and an unlawful connection between the church and the world. 
Out of this spirit was finally produced the union of the civil 
and ecclesiastical powers, which culminated in the formation of 
the papacy. 

Repent. — By disciplining or expelling those who hold 
these pernicious doctrines. Christ declared that if they did 
not do this, he would take the matter into his own hands, and 
come unto them (in judgment), and fight against them (those 
who held these evil doctrines) ; and the whole church would be 
held responsible for the wrongs of those heretical ones whom 
they harbored in their midst. 

The Promise. — To the overcomer it is promised that he 
shall eat of the hidden manna, and receive from his approving 
Lord a white stone, with a new and precious name engraved 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 12-17. 



357 



thereon. Concerning manna that is ' ' hidden, ' ' and a new 
name that no one is to know but he that receives it, not much 
in the way of exposition should be required. But there has 
been much conjecture upon these points, and an allusion to 
them may be expected. Most commentators apply the manna, 
white stone, and new name, to spiritual blessings to be enjoyed 
in this life; but, like all the other promises to the overcomer, 
this one doubtless refers wholly to the future, and is to be 
given when the time comes that the saints are to be rewarded. 
Perhaps the following from the late H. Blunt is as satisfactory 
as anything that has ever been written upon these several 
particulars : — 

"It is generally thought by commentators that this refers 
to an ancient judicial custom of dropping a black stone into an 
urn when it is intended to condemn, and a white stone when 
the prisoner is to be acquitted; but this is an act so distinct 
from that described, ' I will give thee a white stone, ' that we 
are disposed to agree with those who think it refers rather to a 
custom of a very different kind, and not unknown to the clas- 
sical reader, according with beautiful propriety to the case 
before us. In primitive times, when traveling was rendered 
difficult from want of places of public entertainment, hospi- 
tality was exercised by private individuals to a very great 
extent, of which, indeed, we find frequent traces in all history, 
and in none more than the Old Testament. Persons who par- 
took of this hospitality, and those who practiced it, frequently 
contracted habits of friendship and regard for each other, and it 
became a well-established custom among the Greeks and Ro- 
mans to provide their guests with some particular mark, which 
was handed down from father to son, and insured hospitality 
and kind treatment whenever it was presented. This mark 
was usually a small stone or pebble, cut in half, upon the 
halves of which the host and the guest mutually inscribed their 
names, and then interchanged with each other. The produc- 
tion of this tessera was quite sufficient to insure friendship for 
themselves or descendants whenever they traveled again in the 
same direction, while it is evident that these stones required to 



358 



THE REVELATION. 



be. privately kept, and the names written upon them carefully 
concealed, lest others should obtain the privileges instead of 
the persons for whom they were intended. 

"How natural, then, the allusion to this custom in the 
words of the text, < I will give him to eat of the hidden 
manna ! ' and having done this, having made him partake of 
my hospitality, having recognized him as my guest and friend, 
I will present him with the white stone, and in the stone a new 
name written, which no man knoweth, save he who receiveth 
it. I will give him a pledge of my friendship, sacred and 
inviolable, known only to himself." 

On the new name, Wesley very appropriately says : — 
44 Jacob, after his victory, gained the new name of Israel. 
Wouldst thou know what thy new name will be ? The way to 
this is plain — overcome. Till then, all thy inquiries are vain. 
Thou wilt then read it on the white stone." 

Vekse 18. And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; 
These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame 
of fire, and his feet are like fine brass ; 19. I know thy works, and char- 
ity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works ; and the last 
to be more than the first. 20. Notwithstanding I have a few things 
against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth 
herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit for- 
nication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21. And I gave her 
space to repent of her fornication ; and she repented not. 22. Behold, I 
will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into 
great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23. And I will kill 
her children with death ; and all the churches shall know that I am he 
which searcheth the reins and hearts : and I will give unto every one of 
you according to your works. 24. But unto you I say, and unto the rest 
in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not 
known the depths of Satan, as they speak ; I will put upon you none 
other burden. 25. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. 
26. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end. to him 
will I give power over the nations : 27. And he shall rule them with a rod 
of iron ; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers : even 
as I received of my Father. 28. And I will give him the morning star. 
29. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the 
churches. 

If the period covered by the Pergamos church has been 
correctly located, terminating with the setting up of the pa- 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 18-29. 



359 



pacy, a. d. 538, the most natural division to be assigned to the 
church of Thyatira would be the time of the continuance of this 
blasphemous power, through the 1260 years of its supremacy, 
or from a. d. 538 to a. d. 1798. 

Thyatira signifies ' ' sweet savor of labor, " or < < sacrifice of 
contrition." This would well describe the state of the church 
of Jesus Christ during the long period of papal triumph and 
persecution. This age of such dreadful tribulation upon the 
church as never was (Matt. 21 : 21), improved the religious 
condition of believers. Hence they receive for their works, 
charity, service, faith, and patience, the commendation of Him 
whose eyes are as a flame of fire. And works are then again 
mentioned, as though worthy of a double commendation. And 
the last were more than the first. There had been an improve- 
ment in their condition, a growth in grace, an increase in all 
these elements of Christianity. This church is the only one 
that is commended for an improvement in spiritual things. 
But as in the church of Pergamos unfavorable circumstances 
were no apology for false doctrines in the church, so in this 
church, no amount of labor, charity, service, faith, or patience 
could compensate for a like sin. A rebuke is therefore given 
them for suffering in their midst — 

That Woman Jezebel. — As in the preceding church Antipas 
denoted, not an individual, but a class of persons, so, doubt- 
less, Jezebel is here to be understood in the same sense. Wat- 
son's Bible Dictionary says, "The name of Jezebel is used 
proverbially. Rev. 2:20." William Miller, Lectures, p. 
142, speaks as follows : — 

"Jezebel is a figurative name, alluding to Ahab's wife, who 
slew the prophets of the Lord, led her husband into idolatry, 
and fed the prophets of Baal at her own table. A more stri- 
king figure could not have been used to denote the papal abom- 
inations. (See 1 Kings, chapters 18, 19, and 21.) It is very 
evident from history, as well as from this verse, that the 
church of Christ did suffer some of the papal monks to preach 
and teach among them. ( See the 6 History of the Wal- 
denses. 5 ) ' ' 



360 



THE REVELATION. 



The Comprehensive Commentary has the following remark 
upon verse 23 : ''Children are spoken of, which confirms the 
idea that a sect and its proselytes are meant." The judgments 
here threatened against this woman are in harmony with the 
threatenings in other parts of this book against the Roniish 
Church under the symbol of a corrupt woman, the mother of 
harlots and abominations of the earth. (See chapters 17-19.) 
The death which is threatened is doubtless the second death, at 
the end of the one thousand years of Revelation 20, when the 
righteous retribution from the Searcher of "the reins and 
hearts " of all men will be given. And further, the declara- 
tion, "I will give unto every one of you according to your 
works," is proof that the address to this church looks forward 
prophetically to the final reward or punishment of all account- 
able beings. 

. And All the Churches Shall Know, etc. — It has been argued 
from this expression that these churches could not denote seven 
successive periods of the gospel age, but must exist contempo- 
raneously, as otherwise all the churches could not know that 
Christ was the searcher of the reins and hearts from seeing his 
judgments upon Jezebel and her children. But when is it that 
all the churches are to know this ? — It is when these children 
are punished with death. And if this is at the time when the 
second death is inflicted upon all the wicked, then, indeed, will 
"all the churches," as they behold the infliction of the judg- 
ment, know that no secret thing, no evil thought or purpose of 
the heart, has escaped the knowledge of Him, who, with eyes 
like flames of fire, searches the hearts and reins of men. 

I Will Lay upon You None Other Burden. — A respite prom- 
ised the church, if we rightly apprehend, from the burden so 
long her portion, — the weight of papal oppression. It cannot 
be applied to the reception of new truths; for truth is not a 
burden to any accountable being. But the days of tribulation 
that came upon that church, were to be shortened for the 
elect's sake. Matt. 24:22. "They shall be holpen," says 
the prophet, " with a little help." Dan. 11:34. " And the 
earth helped the woman," says John. Rev. 12 : 16. 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 18-29. 



361 



Hold Fast till I Come. — These are the words of the ' ' Son 
of God," and bring to our view an unconditional coming. To 
the churches of Ephesus and Pergamos, certain comings were 
threatened on conditions : < 4 Repent, or else I will come unto 
thee," etc., implying visitations of judgment. But here a com- 
ing of a different nature altogether is brought to view. It is 
not a threatening of punishment. It is suspended upon no 
conditions. It is set before the believer as a matter of hope, 
, and can refer to no other event but the future second advent 
of the Lord in glory, when the Christian's trials will cease, and 
his efforts in the race for life, and his warfare for a crown of 
righteousness, will be rewarded with everlasting success. 

This church brings us down to the time when the more im- 
mediate signs of the soon-coming advent began to be fulfilled. 
In 1780, eighteen years before the close of this period, the 
predicted signs in the sun and moon were fulfilled. (See 
chapter 6 : 12.) And in reference to these signs the Saviour 
said: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then 
look up and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth 
nigh. ' ' In the history of this church we reach a point when 
the end is drawing so near that the attention of the people 
could properly be called more particularly to that event. All 
along Christ has said to his followers, ' ' Occupy till I come. ' ' 
Luke 19 : 13. Now he says, " Hold fast till I come." 

Till the End. — The end of the Christian age. " He that 
shall endure to the end, " says Christ, ' ' the same shall be 
saved." Matt. 24 : 13. Is not here a like promise to those 
who keep Christ's works, do the things he has enjoined, keep 
the faith of Jesus ? Chapter 14 : 12. 

Povjer over the Nations. — - In this world the wicked bear 
rule, and the servants of Christ are of no esteem. But the 
time is coming when righteousness will be in the ascendancy; 
when all ungodliness will be seen in its true light, and be at a 
heavy discount; and when the scepter of power will be in the 
hands of the people of God. This promise will be explained 
by the following facts and scriptures : (1) The nations are to be 
given by the Father into the hands of Christ, to be ruled with 



362 



THE REVELATION. 



a rod of iron, and dashed in pieces like a pottter's vessel (Ps. 2: 
8, 9) ; (2) Associated with Christ when he thus enters upon his 
own work of power and judgment, are to be his saints (Rev. 
3 : 21); (3) They are to reign with him in this capacity for one 
thousand years (chapter 20:4); (4) During this period, the 
degree of judgment upon wicked men and evil angels is deter- 
mined (1 Cor. 6 : 2, 3); (5) At the end of the one thousand 
years, they have the honor of sharing with Christ in the exe- 
cution of the sentence written. Ps. 149 : 9. 

The Morning Star. — Christ says, in chapter 22 : 16, that he 
is himself the morning star. The morning star is the imme- 
diate forerunner of the day. What is here called the morning 
star, is called the day star in 2 Peter 1:19, where it is associated 
with the dawn of the day. " Until the day dawn, and the 
day star arise." During the saints' weary night of watching, 
they have the word of God to shed its needful light upon their 
path. But when the day star shall arise in their hearts, or the 
morning star be given to the overcomers, they will be taken 
into so close a relationship to Christ that their hearts will be 
fully illuminated with his Spirit, and they will walk in his light. 
Then 'they will no longer need the sure word of prophecy, 
which now shines as a light in a dark place. Hasten on, O 
glorious hour, when the light of heaven's bright day shall rise 
upon the pathway of the little flock, and beams of glory from 
the eternal world shall gild their banners ! 




Verse 1. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write ; These 
things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars ; I 
know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 
2. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready 
to die : for I have not found thy works perfect before God 3. Remember 
therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. 
If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou 
shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 4. Thou hast a few 
names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments ; and they 
shall walk with me in white : for they are worthy. 5. He that over- 
cometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot 
out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before 
my Father, and before his angels. 6. He that hath an ear, let him hear 
what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 

nfF the dates of the preceding churches have been correctly 
II* fixed, the period covered by the church of Sardis must 
X commence about the year 1798. 

/Sardis signifies "prince or song of joy," or "that which 
remains. " We then have before us, as constituting this church, 
the reformed churches, from the date above named to the great 
movement which marked another era in the history of the 
people of God. 

The great fault found with this church is that it has a 
name to live, but is dead. And what a high position, in a 
worldly point of view, has the nominal church occupied during 
this period ! Look at her high-sounding titles, and her favor 
with the world. But how have pride and popularity grown 

[363] 



364 



THE REVELATION. 



apace, until spirituality is destroyed, the line of distinction 
between the church and the world is obliterated, and these 
different popular bodies are churches of Christ only in name ! 

This church was to hear the proclamation of the doctrine of 
the second advent, as we learn from verse 3 : "If therefore 
thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief. ' ' This 
implies that the doctrine of the advent would be proclaimed, 
and the duty of watching be enjoined upon the church. The 
coming spoken of is unconditional; the manner only in which 
it would come upon them is conditional. Their not watching 
would not prevent the coming of the Lord; but by watching 
they could avoid being overtaken as by a thief. It is only to 
those who are in this condition that the day of the Lord comes 
unawares. "Ye, brethren," says Paul, "are not in darkness, 
that that day should overtake you as a thief." 1 Thess. 5 : 4. 

A Few Names even in Sardis. — This language would 
seem to imply a period of unparalleled worldliness in the 
church. But even in this state of things, there are some whose 
garments are not defiled, — some who have kept themselves free 
from this contaminating influence. James says, " Pure religion 
and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the 
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself 
unspotted from the world."' James 1:27. 

Shall Walk with Me in Wh ite. — The Lord does not overlook 
his people in any place, however few their numbers. Lonely 
Christian, with none of like precious faith with whom to com- 
mune, do you ever feel as though the hosts of the unbelievers 
would swallow you up ? You are not unnoticed or forgotten 
by your Lord. The multitude of the wicked around you can- 
not be so great as to hide you from his view; and if you keep 
yourself unspotted from surrounding evil, the promise is sure 
to you. You shall be clothed in white, — the white raiment of 
the overcomer, — and walk with your Lord in glory. See 
chapter 7 : 17 : "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the 
throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living foun- 
tains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their 
eyes.*' 



CHAPTER 3. VERSES 1-6. 



365 



White Raiment. — Being clothed with white raiment is ex- 
plained in other scriptures to be a symbol of exchanging iniq- 
uity for righteousness. (See Zech. 3:4, 5.) "Take away 
the filthy garments from him," is explained by the language 
that follows, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass 
from thee." " The fine linen," or the white raiment, " is the 
righteousness of saints." Rev. 19:8. 

The Book of Life. — Object of thrilling interest ! Yast 
and ponderous volume, in which are enrolled the names of all 
the candidates for everlasting life ! And is there danger, after 
our names have once been entered in that heavenly journal, 
that they may be blotted out ? — Yes ; or this warning would 
never have been penned. Paul, even, feared that he himself 
might become a castaway. 1 Cor. 9 : 27. It is only by being 
overcomers at last that our names can be retained in that book. 
But all will not overcome. Their names, of course, will be 
blotted out. And reference is made to some definite point of 
time in the future for this work. ' ' I will not, ' ' says Christ 
(in the future)., blot out the names of the overcomers, which is 
also saying, by implication, that at the same time he will blot 
out the names of those who do not overcome. Is not this the 
same time mentioned by Peter in Acts 3 : 19 ? "Repent ye, 
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, 
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of 
the Lord." To say to the overcomer that his name shall not 
be blotted out of the book of life, is to say also that his sins 
shall be blotted out of the book wherein they are recorded, to 
be remembered against him no more forever. Heb. 8 : 12. 
And this is to be when the times of refreshing come from the 
presence of the Lord; may we not also add, in that other lan- 
guage of Peter, When the day star shall arise in our hearts, or 
the morning star be given to the church, just previous to the 
advent of the Lord to usher in the glorious day '2 2 Peter 
1 : 19; Rev. 2 : 28. And when that hour of decision shall 
come, which cannot now be a great way in the future, how, 
reader, will it be with you ? Will your sins be blotted out, 
and your name be retained in the book of life ? or will your 



366 



THE REVELATION. 



name be blotted out of the book of life, and your sins be left 
to bear their fearful record against you? 

The Presentation in Glory. — "I will confess his name 
before my Father, and before his angels. ' ' Christ taught here 
upon earth, that as men confessed or denied, despised or 
honored him here, they would be confessed or denied by him 
before his Father in heaven and the holy angels. Matt. 
10:32, 33; Mark 8:38; Luke 12:8,9. And who can 
fathom the honor of being approved before the heavenly hosts ! 
Who can conceive the bliss of that moment when we shall be 
owned by the Lord of life before his -Father as those who have 
done his will, fought the good fight, run the race, honored 
him before men, overcome, and whose names are worthy, 
through his merits, of standing upon the imperishable record 
of • the book of life forever and ever ! 

Terse 7. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write : 
These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key 
of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth ; and shutteth and no 
man openeth ; 8. I know thy works : behold, I have set before thee an 
open door, and no man can shut it : for thou hast a little strength, and 
hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9. Behold, I will 
make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are 
not, but do lie ; behold, I will make them to come and worship before 
thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10. Because thou hast 
kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of 
temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell 
upon the earth. 11. Behold, I come quickly : hold that fast which thou 
hast, that no man take thy crown. 12. Him that overcometh will I 
make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out : and 
I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of 
my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven 
from my God : and I will write upon him my new name. 13. He that 
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 

The word Philadelphia signifies brotherly love, and ex- 
presses the position and spirit of those who received the Advent 
message up to the autumn of 1841. As they came out of the 
sectarian churches, they left party names and party feelings 
behind; and every heart beat in union, as they gave the alarm 
to the churches and to the world, and pointed to the coming of 
the Son of man as the believer's true hope. Selfishness and 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 7-13. 



367 



covetousness were laid aside, and a spirit of consecration and 
sacrifice was cherished. The Spirit of God was with every 
true believer, and his praise upon every tongue. Those who 
w T ere not in that movement knew nothing of the deep search- 
ing of heart, consecration of all to God, peace, joy in the Holy 
Spirit, and pure, fervent love for one another, which true be- 
lievers then enjoyed. Those who were in that movement are 
aware that language would fail to describe that holy, happy 
state. 

The Key of David. — A key is a symbol of power. The 
Son of God is the rightful heir to David's throne; and he is 
about to take to himself his great power, and to reign; hence 
he is represented as having the key of David. The throne of 
David, or of Christ, on which he is to reign, is included in the 
capital of his kingdom, the New Jerusalem, now above, but 
which is to be located on this earth, where he is to reign for- 
ever and ever. Rev. 21: 1-5; Luke 1 : 32, 33. 

He that Openeth, and no Man Shutteth, etc. — To under- 
stand this language, it is necessary to look at Christ's position 
and work as connected with his ministry in the sanctuary, 
or true tabernacle above. Heb. 8:2. A figure, or pattern, 
of this heavenly sanctuary once existed here upon earth in 
the sanctuary built by Moses. Ex. 25 : 8, 9 ; Acts 7 : 44; 
Heb. 9 : 1, 21, 23, 24. The earthly building had two apart- 
ments, — the holy place and the most holy place. Ex. 26 : 33, 
34. In the first apartment were the candlestick, the table of 
showbread, and the altar of incense. In the second were the 
ark, which contained the tables of the covenant, or ten com- 
mandments, and the cherubim. Heb. 9 : 1-5. In like manner 
the sanctuary in which Christ ministers in heaven has two 
apartments. Heb. 9 : 24. (See also verses 8 and 12 and 
chapter 10:19, in each of which texts the words rendered^ 
holiest and holy place are plural in the original, and should be 
rendered holy places.) And as all things were made after their 
pattern, the heavenly sanctuary has also furniture similar to 
that of the worldly. For the antitype of the golden candle- 
stick and altar of incense, in the first apartment, see Rev. 4:5; 



368 



THE REVELATION. 



8:3; and for the antitype of the ark of the covenant, with its 
ten commandments, see Eev. 11: 19. In the worldly sanctuary 
the priests ministered. Ex. 28 : 41, 43; Heb. 9 : 6, 7; 13 : 11 ; 
etc. The ministry of these priests was a shadow of the min- 
istry of Christ in the sanctuary in heaven. Heb. 8 : 4, 5. A 
complete round of service was performed in the earthly taber- 
nacle once every year. Heb. 9 : 7. But in the tabernacle 
above the service is performed once for all. Heb. 7:27; 9 : 12. 
At the close of the yearly typical service, the high priest 
entered the second apartment, the most holy place of the 
sanctuary, to make an atonement; and this work is called the 
cleansing of the sanctuary. Lev. 16 : 20, 30, 33; Eze. 45 : 18. 
When the ministry in the most holy place commenced, that in 
the holy place ceased; and no service was performed there so 
long as the priest was engaged in the most holy place. Lev. 
16 : 17. A similar opening and shutting, or change of minis- 
tration, must be accomplished by Christ when the time comes 
for the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. And the time did 
come for this service to commence at the close of the 2300 
days, in 1844. To this event the opening and shutting men- 
tioned in the text under consideration can appropriately apply, 
the opening being the opening of his ministration in the most 
holy place, and the shutting, its cessation in the first apart- 
ment, or holy place. ( See exposition of the subject of the 
sanctuary and its cleansing, under Dan. 8 : 14.) 

Verse 9 probably applies to those who do not keep pace 
with the advancing light of truth, and who oppose those that 
do. Such shall yet be made to feel and confess that God loves 
those, who, not rejecting the past fulfilments of his word, nor 
stereotyping themselves in a creed, continue to advance in the 
knowledge of his truth. 

The Word of My Patience. — Says John, in Rev. 14 : 12, 
' ' Here is the patience of the saints ; here are they that keep 
the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Those 
who now live in patient, faithful obedience to the command- 
ments of God and the faith of Jesus, will be kept in the hour 
of temptation and peril just before us. (See chapter 13 : 13-17.) 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 7-13. 



369 



Behold, I Gome Quickly. — The second coming of Christ is 
here again brought to view, and with more startling emphasis 
than in any of the preceding messages. The nearness of that 
event is here urged upon the attention of believers. The mes- 
sage applies to a period when that great event is impending; 
and in this we have most indubitable evidence of the prophetic 
nature of these messages. What is said of the first three 
churches contains no allusion to the second coming of Christ, 
from the fact that they do not cover a period during which that 
event could be Scripturally expected. But we come down to 
the Thyatiran church, beyond which only three comparatively 
brief stages of the church appear before the end, and, as 
though then the time had come when this great hope was just 
beginning to dawn upon the church, the mind is carried for- 
ward to it by a single allusion : " Hold fast till I come." We 
come down to the next state of the church, the Sardis, the 
church which occupies a position still nearer that event, and 
the great proclamation is brought to view which was to herald 
it, and the duty of watching enjoined upon the church : "If 
thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief." We 
reach the Philadelphian church, still further down in the 
stream of time, and the nearness of the same great event then 
leads Him who " is holy and true " to utter the stirring decla- 
ration, "Behold, I come quickly." How evident is it from 
all this that these churches occupy positions successively 
nearer the great day of the Lord, as in each succeeding one, 
and in a continually increasing ratio, this great event is made 
more and more prominent, and is more definitely and impress- 
ively urged upon the attention of the church. Here they see 
indeed the day approaching. Heb. 10 : 25. 

Faithfulness Enjoined. — "Hold that fast which thou hast, 
that no man take thy crown. ' ' Not that by our faithfulness 
we are depriving any one else of a crown; but the verb ren- 
dered to take has a number of definitions, one of which is " to 
take away, snatch from, deprive of." Hold fast that thou 
hast, that no man deprive thee of the crown of life. Let no 
one, and no thing, induce you to yield up the truth, or pervert 
24 



370 



THE REVELATION. 



you from the right ways of the Lord; for by so doing they will 
cause you to lose the reward. 

A Pillar in the Temple. — The overcomer in this address 
has the promise of being made a pillar in the temple of God, 
and going no more out. The temple here must denote the 
church; and the promise of being made a pillar therein is the 
strongest promise that could be given of a place of honor, per- 
manence, and safety in the church, under the figure of a 
heavenly building. And when the time comes that this part 
of the promise is fulfilled, probation with the overcomer is 
past; he is fully established in the truth, and sealed. 4 'He 
shall go no more out; " that is, there is no more danger of his 
falling away; he is the Lord's forever; his salvation is sure. 

But they are to have more than this. From the moment 
they overcome, and are sealed for heaven, they are labeled, if 
-we may so express it, as belonging to God and Christ, and 
addressed to then' destination, the Xew Jerusalem. They are 
to have written upon them the name of God, whose property 
they are, the name of the JSTew Jerusalem, to which place they 
are going, not old Jerusalem, where some are vainly looking: 
and they have upon them the new name of Christ, by whose 
authority they are to receive everlasting life, and enter into the 
kingdom. Thus sealed and labeled, the saints of God are safe. 
Xo enemy will be able to prevent their reaching their destina- 
tion, their glorious haven of rest, Jerusalem above. 

Yeese 14. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write ; 
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true "Witness, the begin- 
ning of the creation of God ; 15. I know thy works, that thou art neither 
cold nor hot : I would thou wert cold or hot. 16. So then because thou art 
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 
17. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have 
need of nothing ; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, 
and poor, and blind, and naked : 18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold 
tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich ; and white raiment, that thou 
mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear : 
and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. 19. As many 
as I love, I rebuke and chasten : be zealous therefore, and repent. 20. 
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock : if any man hear my voice, and 
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him. and he with 
me. 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 14-22. 



371 



throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his 
throne. 22. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto 
the churches. 

Laodicea signifies the judging of the people, or, according 
to Cruden, a just people. The message to this church brings 
to view the closing scenes of probation. It reveals a period of 
judgment. It is the last stage of the church. It consequently 
applies to believers under the third message, the last message 
of mercy before the coming of Christ (see chapter 14 : 9-14), 
while the great day of atonement is transpiring, and the inves- 
tigative Judgment is going forward upon the house of God, — 
a period during which the just and holy law of God is taken 
by the waiting church as then' rule of life. 

These Things Saith the Amen. — This is, then, the final 
message to the churches ere the close of probation. And 
though the description of then' condition which he gives to the 
indifferent Laodiceans is fearful and startling, nevertheless it 
cannot be denied; for the Witness is ''faithful and true." 
Moreover, he is "the beginning of the creation of God." 
Some understand by this language that Christ was the first 
ereated being, dating his existence anterior to that of any other 
created being or thing, next to the self-existent and eternal 
God. But the language does not necessarily imply that he 
was created; for the words, "the beginning of the creation," 
may simply signify that the work of creation, strictly speaking, 
was begun by him. "Without him was not anything made." 
Others, however, and more properly we think, take the word fyxv 
to mean the ' ' agent " or " efficient cause, ' ' which is one of the 
definitions of the word, understanding that Christ is the agent 
through whom God has created all things, but that he himself 
came into existence in a different manner, as he is called i ' the 
only begotten ' ' of the Father. It would seem utterly inappro- 
priate to apply this expression to any being created in the ordi- 
nary sense of that term. For " beginning," read " beginner." 

The charge he brings against the Laodiceans is that they 
are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot. They lack that religious 
fervency, zeal, and devotion, which their position in the 



372 



THE REVELATION. 



world's closing history, with the light of prophecy beaming 
upon their pathway, demands that they should manifest ; and 
this lukewarmness is shown by a lack of good works; for it 
is from a knowledge of their works that the faithful and true 
Witness brings this fearful charge against them. 

I Would Thou Wert Cold or Hot. — Three states are 
brought to view in this message, — the cold, the lukewarm, 
and the hot. It is important to determine what condition they 
each denote, in order to guard against wrong conclusions. 
Three conditions of spiritual life which pertain to the church, 
not to the world, are to be considered. What the term hot 
means it is not difficult to conceive. The mind at once calls 
up a state of intense fervency and zeal, when all the affections, 
raised to the highest pitch, are drawn out for God and his 
cause, and manifest themselves in corresponding works. To 
be lukewarm is to lack this zeal, to be in a state in which heart 
and earnestness are wanting; in which there is no self-denial 
that costs anything, no cross-bearing that is felt, no deter- 
mined witnessing for Christ, and no valiant aggression that 
keeps sinews strained and armor bright; and, worst of all, it 
implies entire satisfaction with that condition. But to be cold 
— what is that ? Does it denote a state of corruption, wicked- 
ness, and sin, such as characterizes the world of unbelievers? 
We cannot so regard it, for the following reasons : — 

1. It would seem harsh and repulsive to represent Christ 
as wishing, under any circumstances, that persons should be 
in such a condition; but he says, "I would thou wert cold 
or hot." 

2. No state can be more offensive to Christ than that of the 
sinner in open rebellion, and his heart filled with every evil. 
It would therefore be incorrect to represent him as preferring 
that state to any position which his people can occupy while 
they are still retained as his. 

3. The threat of rejection in verse 16 is because they are 
neither cold nor hot. As much as to say that if they were 
either cold or hot, they would not be rejected. But if by cold 
is meant a state of open worldly wickedness, they would be 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 14-22. 



373 



rejected therefor very speedily. Hence such cannot be its 
meaning. 

We are consequently forced to the conclusion that by this 
language our Lord has no reference whatever to those outside 
of his church, but that he refers to three degrees of spiritual 
affections, two of which are more acceptable to him than the 
third. Heat and cold are preferable to lukewarmness. But 
what kind of a spiritual state is denoted by the term cold? 
We may remark first that it is a state of feeling. In this 
respect it is superior to lukewarmness, which is a state of 
comparative insensibility, indifference, and supreme self-satis- 
faction. To be hot is also to be in a state of feeling. And 
as hot denotes joyous fervency, and a lively exercise of all the 
affections, with a heart buoyant with the sensible presence and 
love of God, so by cold would seem to be denoted a spiritual 
condition characterized by a destitution of these traits, yet one 
in which the individual feels such destitution, and longs to 
recover his lost treasures. This state is well expressed by the 
language of Job, ' ' O that I knew where I might find him ! ' ' 
Job 23 : 3. In this state there is not indifference, nor is there 
content; but there is a sense of coldness, unfitness, and dis- 
comfort, and a groping and seeking after something better. 
There is hope of a person in this condition. What a man feels 
that he lacks and wants, he will earnestly strive to obtain. 
The most discouraging feature of the lukewarm is that they are 
conscious of no lack, and feel that they have need of nothing. 
Hence it is easy to see why our Lord should prefer to behold 
his church in a state of comfortless coldness, rather than in a 
state of comfortable, easy, indifferent lukewarmness. Cold, a 
person will not long remain. His efforts will soon lead him to 
the fervid state. But lukewarm, there is danger of his remain- 
ing till the faithful and true Witness is obliged to reject him 
as a nauseous and loathsome thing. 

I Will Spue Thee out of My Mouth. — Here the figure is 
still further carried out, and the rejection of the lukewarm ex- 
pressed by the nauseating effects of tepid water. And this 
denotes a final rejection, an utter separation from his church. 



374 



THE REVELATION. 



JSich, and Increased ivith Goods. — Such the Laodiceans 
think is their condition. They are not hypocrites, because 
they "know not" that they are poor, miserable, blind, and 
naked. 

The Counsel Given Them. — Buy of me, says the true Wit- 
ness, gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white 
raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and anoint thine eyes 
with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. This shows at once to 
the deceived Laodiceans the objects they lack, and the extent 
of their destitution. It shows, too, where they can obtain those 
things in which they are so fearfully poor ; it brings before 
them the necessity of speedily obtaining them. The case is so 
urgent that our great Advocate in the court above sends us 
special counsel on the point; and the fact that he who has 
condescended to point out our lack, and counsel us to buy, is 
t-he one who has these things to bestow, and invites us to come 
to him for them, is the best possible guarantee that our applica- 
tion will be respected, and our requests granted. 

But by what means can we buy these things ? — Just as we 
buy all other gospel graces. ' ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, 
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, 
buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money 
and without price." Isa. 55 : 1. We thus buy by the asking; 
buy by throwing away the worthless baubles of earth, and 
receiving priceless treasures in their stead; buy by simply 
coming and receiving; buy, giving nothing in return. And 
what do we buy on these gracious terms ? — Bread that perishes 
not, spotless raiment that soils not, riches that corrupt not, and 
an inheritance that fadeth not. Strange traffic, this ! yet thus 
the Lord condescends to deal with his people. He might com- 
pel us to come in the manner and with the mien of beggars; 
but instead of this he gives us the treasures of his grace, and 
in return receives our worthlessness, that we may take the 
blessings he has to bestow, not as pittances dealt out to mendi- 
cants, but as the legitimate possessions of honorable purchase. 

The things to be obtained demand especial notice. They 
are enumerated as follows : — 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 14-22. 



375 



1. Gold Tried in the Fire. — Gold, literally considered, is 
the comprehensive name for all worldly wealth and riches. 
Figuratively, it must denote that which constitutes spiritual 
riches. What grace, then, is represented by the gold, or, 
rather, what graces ? for doubtless no one single grace can be 
said to answer to the full import of that term. The Lord said 
to the church of Smyrna that he knew their poverty, but they 
were rich; and the testimony shows that their riches consisted 
of that which was finally to put them in possession of a crown 
of life. Says James, 4 ' Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath 
not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith,' and heirs 
of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love 
him? " " Faith, " says Paul, " is the substance of things 
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." To be " rich 
toward God," — rich in the spiritual sense, — is to have a clear 
title to the promises, — to be an heir of that inheritance which 
is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved 
in heaven for us. "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's 
seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3 : 29. And 
how do we obtain this heirship ? — In the same way that Abra- 
ham obtained the promise ; that is, through faith. Rom. 4: 
13, 14. No wonder, then, that Paul should devote an entire 
chapter in Hebrews (chapter 11 ) to this important subject, set- 
ting forth the mighty achievements that have been accom- 
plished, and the precious promises that have been obtained, 
through faith ; and that he should, in the first verse of the next 
chapter, as the grand conclusion to his argument, exhort Chris- 
tians to lay aside every weight, and the sin ( of unbelief ) that 
so easily besets them. Nothing will sooner dry up the springs 
of spirituality, and sink us into utter poverty in reference to 
the things of the kingdom of God, than to let faith go out and 
unbelief come in. For faith must enter into every action that 
is pleasing in his sight; and in coming to him, the first thing is 
to believe that he is; and it is through faith, as the chief agent 
under the grace which is the gift of God, that we are to be 
saved. Heb. 11 : 6; Eph. 2 : 8. 

From this it would seem that faith is a principal element of 



370 



THE REVELATION. 



spiritual wealth. But if, as already remarked, no one grace 
can answer to the full import of the term gold, so, doubtless, 
other things are included with faith. ' 1 Faith is the substance 
of things hoped for, " says Paul. Hence hope is an insepara- 
ble accompaniment of faith. Heb. 11 : 1 ; Rom. 8 : 24, 25. 
And again Paul tells us that faith works by love, and speaks in 
another place of being "rich in good works." Gal. 5:6; 
1 Tim. 6 : 18. Hence love cannot be separated from faith. 
We then have before us the three objects associated together 
by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, — faith, hope, and charity, or 
love; and the greatest of these is charity. Such is the gold 
tried by fire which we are counseled to buy. 

2. White Raiment. — On this point there would not seem 
to be much room for controversy. A few texts will furnish a 
key to the understanding of this expression. Says the prophet, 

. Isa. 64 : 6, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." We 
are counseled to buy the opposite of filthy rags, which would 
be complete and spotless raiment. The same figure is used in 
Zech. 3 : 3, 4. And John, in the 19th chapter of the Revela- 
tion, verse 8, says plainly that "the fine linen is the righteous- 
ness of saints." 

3. The Eye-salve. — On this there is as little room for a 
diversity of opinion as upon the white raiment. The anointing 
of the eyes is certainly not to be taken in a literal sense; and, 
reference being made to spiritual things, the eye-salve must 
denote that by which our spiritual discernment is quickened. 
There is but one agent revealed to us in the word of God by 
which this is accomplished, and that is the Holy Spirit. In 
Acts 10 : 38 we read that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth 
with the Holy Ghost." And the same writer through whom 
came this Revelation from Jesus Christ, wrote to the church in 
his first epistle (chapter 2 : 20) as follows : " But ye have an 
unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." In 
verse 27 he enlarges upon this point thus : < < But the anointing 
which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not 
that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth 
you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 14-22. 



377 



hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. ' ' By referring to his 
Gospel, it is found that the work which he here sets forth as 
accomplished by the anointing is exactly the same that he there 
attributes to the Holy Spirit. John 14 : 26 : 4 'But the Com- 
forter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in 
my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to 
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (See 
also John 16 : 13.) 

Thus in a formal and solemn manner are we counseled by 
the faithful and true witness, under the figures of gold, white 
raiment, and eye-salve, to seek from him, speedily and ear- 
nestly, an increase of the heavenly graces of faith, hope, charity, 
that righteousness which he alone can furnish, and an unction 
from the Holy Spirit. But how is it possible that a people 
lacking these things should think themselves rich and increased 
with goods ? A plausible inference may here be drawn, which 
is perhaps also a necessary one, as there is room for no other. 
It will be observed that no fault is found with the Laodiceans 
on account of the doctrines they hold. They are not accused 
of harboring any Jezebel in their midst, or of countenancing 
the doctrines of Baalam or the Nicolaitanes. So far as we can 
learn from the address to them, their belief is correct, and their 
theory sound. The inference therefore is that having a correct 
theory, therewith they are content. They are satisfied with a 
correct form of doctrine without its power. Having received 
light concerning the closing events of this dispensation, and 
having a correct theoretical knowledge of the truths that per- 
tain to the last generation of men, they are inclined to rest in 
this to the neglect of the spiritual part of religion. It is by 
their actions, doubtless, not by their words, that they say they 
are rich, and increased with goods. Having so much light and 
so much truth, what can they want besides ? And if, with a 
commendable tenacity, they defend the theory, and in the 
letter, so far as their outward life is concerned, conform to the 
increasing light upon the commandments, of God and the faith 
of Jesus, is not their righteousness complete ? Rich, and 
increased with goods, and needing nothing ! Here is their 



378 



THE REVELATION. 



failure. Their whole being should cry out for the spirit, the 
zeal, the fervency, the life, the power, of a living Christianity, 
and their righteousness should consist in a swallowing up of 
self and all its works in the merits of their Eedeemer. 

The Token of Love. — This, strange as it may seem, is chas- 
tisement. < < As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. ' ' If 
we are without chastisement, we are not sons. Hebrews 12. 
" A general law, " says Thompson, "of his gracious economy 
is here set forth. As all need chastisement in some measure, 
they in some measure receive it, and thus have proof of the 
Saviour's attachment. This is a hard lesson to learn, and be- 
lievers are dull scholars; yet here and throughout God's word 
and providence it stands, that trials are his benedictions, and 
that no child escapes the rod. The incorrigibly misshapen and 
coarse-grained blocks are rejected, while those chosen for the 
glorious structure are subjected to the chisel and the hammer. 
There is no cluster on the true vine but must pass through the 
winepress. i For myself, ' said an old divine under affliction, 
'for myself, I bless God I have observed and felt so much 
mercy in this angry dispensation of God that I am almost 
transported. I am, sure, highly pleased with thinking how 
infinitely sweet his mercies are, when his judgments are so 
gracious.' In view, then, of the origin and design of the 
chastisements you receive, ' Be zealous and repent. ' Lose no 
time; lose not a blow of the rod, but repent at once. Be fer- 
vent in spirit. Such is the first appliance of encouragement." 

Be Zealous and Repent. — Although, as we have seen, the 
state represented by coldness is preferable to one of lukewarm- 
ness, yet that is not a state in which our Lord ever desires to 
find us. We are never exhorted to seek that state. There is 
a far better one which we are counseled to attain; and that is 
to be zealous, to be fervent, and to have our hearts all aglow 
in the service of our Master. 

Christ Knocking at the Door. — Let us listen again to the 
author above quoted : " Here is the heart of hearts. Notwith- 
standing their offensive attitude, their unlovely character, such 
is his love to their souls that he humbles himself to solicit the 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 14-22. 



379 



privilege of making them blessed. ' Behold, I stand at the 
door, and knock. ' Why does he ? Not because he is without 
home elsewhere. Among the mansions in his Father's house 
there is not one entrance closed to him. He is the life of 
every heart, the light in every eye, the song on every tongue, 
in glory. But he goes round from door to door in Laodicea. 
He stands at each, and knocks, because he came to seek and to 
save that which is lost, because he cannot give up the purpose 
of communicating eternal life to as many as the Father has 
given him, and because he cannot become known to the inmate 
unless the door be opened and a welcome given him. Have 
you bought a piece of ground ? have you bought five yoke of 
oxen ? is your hat in your hand, and do you pray to be ex- 
cused? He knocks and knocks. But you cannot receive 
company at present; you are worn out with labor; you have 
wheeled round the sofa; you are making yourself comfortable, 
and send word that you are engaged. He knocks and knocks. 
... It is the hour for church prayer-meeting or for monthly 
concert; there is opportunity to pay a Christian visit to an indi- 
vidual or a family; but you move not. . . . Oh, nauseous 
lukewarmness ! Oh, fatal worldliness ! The Lord of glory 
comes all the way from his celestial palace — comes in poverty, 
in sweat, in blood — comes to the door of a professed friend, 
who owes all to him, and cannot get in ! — comes to rescue a 
man whose house is on fire, and he will not admit him ! Oh, 
the hight, the depth, of Jesus Christ's forbearance ! Even 
the heathen Publius received Paul, and lodged him three days 
courteously 0 Shall nominal Christians tell the Lord of apostles 
that they have no room for him ? ' ' 

If Any Man Hear My Voice. — The Lord entreats, then, 
as well as knocks. And the word if implies that some will 
not hear. Though he stands and knocks and entreats till his 
locks are wet with the dews of night, yet some will close their 
ears to his tender entreaties. But it is not enough simply to 
hear. We must hear, and open the door. And many who at 
first hear the voice, and for a time feel inclined to heed, will 
doubtless, alas ! fail in the end to do that which is necessary 



380 



THE REVELATION. 



to secure to themselves the communion of the heavenly Guest. 
Reader, are your ears open to the entreaties which the Saviour 
directs to you ? Is the sound of his voice a welcome sound ? 
Will you heed it ? Will you open the door and let him in ? 
Or is the door of your heart held fast by heaps of this world's 
rubbish, which you are unwilling to remove ? Remember that 
the Lord of life never forces an entrance. He condescends to 
come and knock, and seek admittance; but he takes up his 
abode in those hearts only where he is then a welcome and 
invited guest. 

And then the promise ! "I will come in to him, and will 
sup with him, and he with me." How forcible and touching 
the figure ! Friend with friend, partaking of the cheerful and 
social meal ! Mind with mind, holding free and intimate con- 
verse ! And what a festal scene must that be where the King 
of glory is a guest ! No common degree of union, no ordinary 
blessing, no usual privilege, is denoted by this language. Who, 
under such tender entreaty and so gracious a promise, can re- 
main indifferent ? Nor are we required to furnish the table for 
this exalted Guest. This he does himself, not with the gross 
nutriment of earth, but with viands from his own heavenly 
storehouse. Here he sets before us foretastes of the glory soon 
to be revealed. Here he gives us earnests of our future inher- 
itance, which is incorruptible, undefiled, and fadeth not away. 
Yerily, when we shall comply with the conditions, and receive 
this promise, we shall experience the rising of the day star in 
our hearts, and behold the dawn of a glorious morning for the 
church of God. 

The Final Promise. — The promise of supping with his dis- 
ciples is made by the Lord before the final promise to the over- 
comer is given. This shows that the blessings included in that 
promise are to be enjoyed in this probationary state. And 
now, superadded to all these, is the promise to the overcomer: 
' 4 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my 
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my 
Father in his throne." Here the promises of the Lord culmi- 
nate. From being at first rebellious, and then fallen, de- 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 14-22. 



381 



graded, and polluted, man is brought by the work of the 
Redeemer back into reconciliation with God, cleansed from his 
pollutions, redeemed from the fall, made immortal, and finally 
raised to a seat upon the very throne of his Saviour. Honor 
and exaltation could go no farther. Human minds cannot 
conceive that state, human language cannot describe it. We 
can only labor on till, if overcomers at last, we shall 4 'know 
what it is to be there. ' ' 

In this verse there is not only a glorious promise, but there 
is also an important doctrine. We learn by this that Christ 
reigns consecutively upon two thrones. One is the throne of 
his Father, the other is his own throne. He declares in this 
verse that he has overcome, and is now set clown with his 
Father in his throne. He is now associated with the Father 
in the throne of universal dominion, placed at his right hand, 
far above all principality, power, might, and dominion. Eph. 
1 : 20-22, etc. While in this position, he is a priest-king. 
He is a priest, 88 a minister of the sanctuary; " but at the same 
time he is 88 on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in 
the heavens." Heb. 8:1, 2. This position and work of our 
Lord was thus predicted by the prophet Zechariah : ' 8 And 
speak unto him, saying. Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts 
[God], saying, Behold the man whose name is the Branch 
[ Christ ] ; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall 
build the temple of the Lord. . . . And he [Christ] shall sit 
and rule upon his [God's] throne; and he [Christ] shall be a 
priest upon his [God's] throne; and the counsel of peace [in 
the sacrifice and priestly work of Christ in behalf of repent- 
ing man] shall be between them both." Zech. 6:12, 13. 
But the time is coming when he is to change his position, and, 
leaving the throne of his Father, take his own throne; and this 
must be when the time comes for the reward of the over- 
comers; for when they enter upon their reward, they are to sit 
with Christ on his throne, as he has overcome, and is now 
seated with the Father upon his throne. This change in the 
position of Christ is set forth by Paul in 1 Cor. 15 : 2-1-28, as 
follows : — 



4 



382 



THE REVELATION. 



< ' Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the 
kingdom to God, even the Father ; when he shall have put 
down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, 
till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy 
that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things 
under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under 
him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things 
under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, 
then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all 
things under him, that God may be all in all." 

The truths taught in this portion of Scripture may perhaps 
be most briefly expressed by a slight paraphrase, and by giving, 
in every instance, instead of the pronouns, the nouns to which 
they respectively refer. Thus : — • 

16 Then cometh the end ( of the present dispensation), when 
- Christ shall have delivered up the kingdom ( which he now 
holds cou jointly with the Father) to God, even the Father; 
when God shall have put down all rule and all authority and 
power ( that is opposed to the work of the Son). For Christ 
must reign ( on the throne of his Father ) till the Father hath 
put all enemies under Christ's feet. [See Ps. 110 : 1.] The 
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For God ( then ) 
hath put all things under Christ's feet. But when God saith, 
All things are put under Christ ( and he commences his reign 
upon his own throne), it is manifest that God is excepted, who 
did put all things under Christ. And when all things shall be 
subdued unto Christ, then shall Christ also himself be subject 
unto God that put all things under him, that God may be all 
in all," 

That this is a correct version of this scripture may be easily 
verified. The only question that can be raised is concerning 
the persons to whom the pronouns refer; and any attempt to 
make the pronouns refer to Christ which in the foregoing para- 
phrase are referred to God, will be found, when traced through 
the quotation, to make poor sense of Paul's language. 

From this it will be seen that the kingdom which Christ 
delivers up to the Father is that which he holds at the present 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 14-22. 



383 



time upon his Father's throne, where he tells us he is now seated. 
He delivers up this kingdom at the end of this dispensation, 
when the time comes for him to take his own throne. After 
this, he reigns on the throne of his father David, and is subject 
only to God, who still retains his position upon the throne of 
universal dominion. In this reign of Christ the saints partici- 
pate. " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in 
my throne." 6 'And they lived," says John, dating from the 
first resurrection (chapter 20 : 4), " and reigned with Christ a 
thousand years." This we understand to be a special reign, or 
for a special purpose, as will be noticed in that chapter; for 
the actual reign of the saints is to be "forever and ever." 
Dan. 7 : 18, 27. How can any earthly object divert our gaze 
from this durable and heavenly prospect ? 

Thus close the messages to the seven churches. How 
pointed and searching their testimony ! What lessons do they 
contain for all Christians in all ages ! It is as true with the 
last church as with the first, that all their works are known to 
Him who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. 
From his scrutinizing gaze nothing can be hidden. And while 
his threatenings to the hypocrites and evil workers, as in justice 
they may be, are awful, how ample, how comforting, how gra- 
cious, how glorious, his promises to those who love and follow 
him with singleness of heart ! 

Gracious words of counsel, messages of love, 
Sent to all his children from the Lord on high; 

Precious are these warnings from the throne above, 
As the world's last crisis swiftly draweth nigh. 

Weak and all unworthy we, his children, are — 
Pure and perfect must be ere we see his face ; 

Now for us the Saviour shows his tender care, 
Offering for our purchase every heavenly grace. 

Let each boundless promise every bosom thrill, 

Bear us through sad ills this world has ever known, 

Till we reach the mansions on God's holy hill, 
Till we sit with Jesus on his glorious throne, 




Terse 1. After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in 
heaven : and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet 
talking with me ; which said. Come up hither, and I will show thee 
-things which must be hereafter. 



"ll J the first three chapters, John presents the vision he had 
! of the Son of man, comprising a description of his majestic 
-» person, and a record of the words, which, with a voice as 
the sound of many waters, he was heard to utter. A new 
scene and a new vision now open before us; and the expression 
''after this" does not denote that what is recorded in chap- 
ter 4 and onward was to take place after the fulfilment of 
everything recorded in the three preceding chapters, but only 
that after he had seen and heard what is there recorded, he 
had the new view which he now introduces. 

A Door Was Opened in Heaven. — Let it be noticed that 
John says, 1 £ A door was opened in heaven, ' ' not into heaven. 
It was not an opening of heaven itself before the mind of John, 
as in the case of Stephen (Acts 7:56^); but someplace, or 
apartment, in heaven was opened before him, and he was per- 
mitted to behold what was transpiring within. That this apart- 
ment which John saw open was the heavenly sanctuary, will 
plainly appear from other portions of the book. 

Things Which Must Be Hereafter. — Compare with this 
chapter 1:1. The great object of the Revelation seems to be 
[384] 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 1-5. 



385 



the presentation of future events, for the purpose of informing, 
edifying, and comforting the church. 

Terse 2. And immediately I was in the Spirit : and, behold, a 
throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3. And he that sat 
was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone : and there was a rain- 
bow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. 4. And 
round about the throne were four and twenty seats : and upon the seats I 
saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment ; and they 
had on their heads crowns of gold. 5, And out of the throne proceeded 
lightnings and thuhderings and voices : and there were seven lamps of 
fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 

In the Spirit. — Once before in this book we have had this 
expression; namely, in chapter 1 : 10, ; < I was in the Spirit on 
the Lord's day,*' where it was taken to express the fact that 
John had a vision upon the Sabbath, or Lord's day. If it 
there expressed the state of being in visiou, it would denote 
the same thing here; and consequently the first vision ended 
with chapter 3, and a new one is here introduced. Nor is it 
any objection to this view that John, previous to this, as is 
learned from the first verse of this chapter, was in such a spir- 
itual state as to be able to look up and see a door opened in 
heaven, and to hear a voice, like the mighty sound of a trum- 
pet, calling him up to a nearer prospect of heavenly things. 
It is evident that there may be such states of ecstasy independ- 
ent of vision, just as Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, could 
look up and see the heavens opened, and the Son of man on 
the right hand of God. To be in the Spirit denotes a still 
higher state of spiritual elevation. On what day this vision 
was given, we are not informed. 

Being again fully wrapped in heavenly vision, the first 
object which he beholds is a throne set in heaven, and the 
Divine Being seated thereon. The description of the appear- 
ance of this personage, clothed in the mingled colors of the 
jasper, frequently a purple, and the blood-red sardine stone, is 
such as at once to suggest to the mind a monarch vested with 
his royal robes. And round about the throne there was a rain- 
bow, both adding to the grandeur of the scene, and reminding 



386 



THE REVELATION. 



us that though he who sits upon the throne is an almighty and 
absolute ruler, he is nevertheless the covenant-keeping God. 

The Four and Twenty Elders. — The question once pro- 
posed to John concerning a certain company, has frequently 
arisen concerning these four and twenty elders: 4 'Who are 
these? and whence came they?" It will be observed that 
they are clothed in white raiment, and have on their heads 
crowns of gold, which are tokens both of a conflict completed 
and a victory gained. From this we conclude that they were 
once participants in the Christian warfare, once trod, in com- 
mon with all saints, this earthly pilgrimage, but have over- 
come; and for some good purpose, in advance of the great 
multitude of the redeemed, are wearing their victor crowns in 
the heavenly, world. Indeed, they plainly tell us as much as 
this in the song of praise which they, in connection with the 
- four living beings, ascribe to the Lamb, in the # 9 th verse of the 
following chapter : 4 4 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou 
art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for 
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood 
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." 
This song is sung before any of the events in the prophecy of 
the seven seals transpire; for it is sung to set forth the worthi- 
ness of the Lamb to take the book and to open the seals, on 
the ground of what he had already accomplished, which was 
their redemption. It is not, therefore, thrown in here by antici- 
pation, having its application in the future; but it expresses an 
absolute and finished fact in the history of those who sung 
it. These, then, were a class of redeemed persons, — redeemed 
from this earth, redeemed as all others must be redeemed, by 
the precious blood of Christ. 

Do we in any other place read of such a class of redeemed 
ones ? — We think Paul refers to the same company when he 
writes to the Ephesians thus : ' ' Wherefore he saith, When he 
[Christ] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and 
gave gifts unto men." The marginal reading is, he led a 
"multitude of captives." Eph. 4:8. Going back to the 
events that occurred in connection with the crucifixion and 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 2-5. 



387 



resurrection of Christ, we read, "And the graves were opened; 
and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out 
of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy 
city, and appeared unto many." Matt. 27 : 52, 53. Thus 
the answer to our question comes back, gathered unmistakably 
from the sacred page. These are some of those who came out 
of their graves at the resurrection of Christ, and who were 
numbered with the illustrious multitude which he led up 
from the captivity of Death's dark domain when he ascended 
in triumph on high. Matthew records their resurrection, 
Paul their ascension, and John beholds them in heaven, per- 
forming the sacred duties which they were raised up to 
accomplish. 

In this view we are not alone. Wesley speaks as follows 
concerning the four and twenty elders : ' 4 Clothed in white 
raiment.] This, and their golden crowns, show that they had 
already finished their course, and taken their places among the 
citizens of heaven. They are never termed souls, and hence it 
is probable that they had glorified bodies already. Compare 
Matt. 27 : 52." 

The particular attention of the reader is asked to the fact 
that the four and twenty elders are said to be seated on thrones. 
Our translation, it is true, reads "seats;" but the Greek is 
$p6voi, " thrones;" and so the Revised Yersion reads: "And 
round about the throne were four and twenty thrones, and 
upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting." This 
passage, consequently, throws light on the expression found in 
Dan. 7:9, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down. ' ' These 
are the same thrones; and, as has been shown in comments upon 
that passage, the meaning is not that the thrones were over- 
turned, or cast down, in the ordinary sense of that expression, 
but placed, or established; and the figure is taken from the 
Eastern custom of casting down, or placing, mats or divans for 
distinguished guests to sit upon. These four and twenty 
elders ( see on chapter 5 ) are supposed to be assistants of Christ 
in his mediatorial work in the sanctuary on high; and when 
the judgment scene described in Dan. 7 : 9 commenced in the 



388 



THE REVELATION. 



most holy place, their seats, or thrones, would be set, or placed, 
there, according to the testimony of that passage. 

The Seven Lamps of Fire. — In these lamps of fire we have 
an appropriate antitype of the golden candlestick of the typical 
sanctuary, with its seven ever-burning lamps. This candlestick 
was placed, by divine direction, in the first apartment of the 
earthly sanctuary. Ex. 25:31, 32, 37; 26:35; 27:20; etc. 
And now when John tells us that a door was opened in heaven, 
and in the apartment thus disclosed to view he sees the antitype 
of the candlestick of the earthly sanctuary, it is good proof 
that he is looking into the first apartment of the sanctuary 
above. 

Verse 6. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto 
crystal : and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, 
were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7. And the first beast 
was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had 
a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 8. And 
the four beasts had each of them six wings about him ; and they were 
full of eyes within : and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, 
holy, Lord God Almighty, which was. and is, and is to come. 9. And 
when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on 
the throne, who liveth forever and ever, 10. The four and twenty elders 
fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth 
forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11. 
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power : for 
thou hast ( created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were 
created. 

The Sea of Glass. — Xot composed of glass, but a broad 
expanse resembling glass; that is, says Greenfield, transparent, 
brilliant. This idea is further carried out by its being likened 
to crystal, which is defined to mean ' ' anything concrete and 
pellucid, like ice or glass." The position of this sea is such as 
to show that it bears no analogy to the laver of the ancient 
typical service. 

It may extend under, and be the foundation of, the throne, 
and even further, of the city itself. It is again brought to 
view in chapter 15 : 2, as the place where the overcomers, in 
the ecstatic joy of final victory, will soon stand. 

The Four Beasts. — It is a very unhappy translation which 
has given us the word leasts in this verse. The Greek word 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 6-11. 



389 



Cuov denotes properly a living creature. Bloomfield says, 
" 'Four living creatures' (not beasts). So Heinr. renders it. 
. . . The propriety of this correction is now, I "believe, gen- 
erally agreed upon by commentators. The word is very differ- 
ent from Ihipiav, used to designate the prophetic beasts in the 
13th and following chapters. ( Scholefield.) It may be added 
that Bulkeley adduces several examples of c«ov to denote, not 
only creature, but even a human being, especially one from 
Origen, who uses it of our Lord Jesus." 

Similar imagery is used in the first chapter of Ezekiel. 
The qualities which would seem to be signified by the emblems 
are strength, perseverance, reason, and swiftness, — strength 
of affection, perseverance in carrying out the requirements of 
duty, reason in comprehending the divine will, and swiftness 
in obeying. These living beings are even more intimately con- 
nected with the throne than are the four and twenty elders, 
being represented as in the midst of it, and round about it. 
Like the elders, these, in their song to the Lamb, ascribe to him 
praise for having redeemed them from the earth. They there- 
fore belong to the same company, and represent a part of the 
great multitude, who, as already described ( see remarks on 
verse 4), have been led up on high from the captivity of death. 
Concerning the object of their redemption, see remarks on 
chapter 5:8. 

They Rest Not. — "Oh! happy unrest!" beautifully ex- 
claims John Wesley; and the theme of their constant worship 
is, 6 ' Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, 
and is to come." No sublimer strain ever issued from created 
lips. And they repeat it ' ' day and night, 5 ' or continually, 
these terms only denoting the manner in which time is reck- 
oned here; for there can be no night where the throne of 
God is. 

We mortals are apt to tire of the repetition of the simple 
testimony we bear here to the goodness and mercy of God; 
and we are sometimes tempted to say nothing, because we can- 
not continually say something new. But may we not learn a 
profitable lesson from the course of these holy beings above, 



390 



THE REVELATION. 



who never grow weary of the ceaseless repetition of these 
words, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ; " and to whom 
these words never grow old, because their hearts ever glow with 
a sense of his holiness, goodness, and love 1 Praise does not 
become to them monotonous ; for with every utterance they 
gain a new view of the attributes of the Almighty; they reach 
a greater hight of comprehension in their vision of his perfec- 
tions; the horizon expands before them; their hearts enlarge; 
and the new emotions of adoration, from their new standpoint, 
draw from them a fresh utterance of their holy salutation, new 
even to themselves, 4 4 Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ! " 

So, even with us here, though remarks are often, repeated 
in reference to the goodness, the mercy, and the love of God, 
the value of his truth, and the attractions of the world to come, 
these should not grow stale upon the ear; for we should all our 
"lives be rising to new conceptions of the blessings embraced in 
these glorious themes. 

Concerning the expression, "which was, and is, and is to 
come, ' ' see remarks on chapter 1 : 4. 

' "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and 
power." How worthy, we never shall be able to realize till, 
like the holy beings who utter this language, changed to immor- 
tality, we are presented faultless before the presence of his 
glory. Jude 24. 

Thou Hast Created All Things, — The works of creation 
furnish the foundation for the honor, glory, and power ascribed 
to God. "And for thy pleasure," or through thy will, Sid to 
-&ehjfid gov, they are, and were created. God willed, and all 
things came into existence; and by the same power they are 
preserved and sustained. 



Verse 1. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne 
a book written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals. 

XEW chapter here opens, but not a new scene. The 
same view is still before the mind of the apostle. By 
the words, ' ' him that sat on the throne, ' ' is evidently 
meant the Father, as the Son is subsequently introduced as ' c a 
Lamb as it had been slain.'' The book which John here saw, 
contained a revelation of scenes that were to transpire in the 
history of the church to the end of time. Its being held in the 
right hand of him that sat on the throne may signify that a 
knowledge of the future rests with God alone, except so far as 
he sees fit to reveal it to others. 

The Booh. — The books in use at the time the Revelation 
was given were not in the form of books as now made. They 
did not consist of a series of leaves bound together, but were 
composed of strips of parchment or other material, longer or 
shorter, one or more, and rolled up. On this point, Wesley 
remarks : — ■ 

< ' The usual books of the ancients were not like ours, but 
were volumes, or long pieces of parchment, rolled upon a long 
stick, as we frequently roll silks. Such was this represented, 
which was sealed with seven seals. Kot as if the apostle saw 
all the seals at once; for there were seven volumes wrapped up 
one within another, each of which was sealed; so that upon 

[391] 




392 



THE REVELATION. 



opening and unrolling the first, the second appeared to be 
sealed up till that was opened, and so on to the seventh." 

On the same point, Scott remarks : " It appeared as a roll 
consisting of several parchments, according to the custom of 
those times; and though it was supposed to be written within, 
yet nothing could be read till the seals were loosed. It was 
afterward found to contain seven parchments, or small volumes, 
each of which was separately sealed; but if all the seals had 
been on the outside, nothing could have been read till they had 
all been loosed; whereas the loosing of each seal was followed 
by some discovery of the contents of the roll. Yet the appear- 
ance on the outside seems to have indicated that it consisted of 
seven, or at least of several parts.'' 

Bloomfield says : ' ' The long rolls of parchment used by 
the ancients, which we call hooks, were seldom written but on 
one side; namely, that which was in rolling turned inward." 
So, doubtless, this book was not written within and on the 
back side, as the punctuation of our common version makes it 
read. ' 4 Grotius, Lowman, Fuller, etc. , ' ' says the Cottage 
Bible, "remove the comma, thus: 'Written within, and. on 
the back (or outside) sealed,' etc." How these seals were 
placed, is sufficiently explained in the notes from Wesley and 
Scott, given above. 

Verse 2. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 
Who is worthjr to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof ? 3. And 
no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open 
the book, neither to look thereon. 4. And I wept much, because no man 
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look 
thereon. 

The Challenge. — God, as it were, holds forth this book to 
the view of the universe, and a strong angel, one doubtless of 
great eminence and power, comes forth as a crier, and with a 
mighty voice challenges all creatures in the universe to try the 
strength of their wisdom in opening the counsels of God. 
Who can be found worthy to open the book, and to loose the 
seals thereof ? A pause ensues. In silence the universe owns 
its inability and unworthiness to enter into the counsels of the 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 2-7. 



393 



Creator. 44 And no man in heaven, " ovdetc, not merely no man, 
but no one, no being, in heaven. Is not here proof that the 
faculties of angels are limited, like those of man, in respect to 
penetrating the future, and disclosing what is to come ? And 
when the apostle saw that no one came forward to open the 
book, he greatly feared that the counsels of God which it con- 
tained in reference to his people, would never be disclosed, 
and in natural tenderness of his feelings, and his concern for 
the church, he wept much. 44 How far are they, " says Wesley, 
44 from the temper of St. John, who inquire after anything 
rather than the contents of this book ! " 

Upon the phrase, 44 1 wept much," Benson offers the fol- 
lowing beautiful remarks : 4 4 Being greatly affected with the 
thought that no being whatever was to be found able to under- 
stand, reveal, and accomplish the divine counsels, fearing they 
would still remain concealed from the church. This weeping 
of the apostle sprang from greatness of mind. The tenderness 
of heart which he always had, appeared more clearly now he 
was out of his own power. The Revelation was not written 
without tears, neither without tears will it be understood." 

Vekse 5. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not : behold, 
the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open 
the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6. And I beheld, and, lo, 
in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the 
elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven 
eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 
7. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that 
sat upon the throne. 

Not long is John permitted to weep. God is not willing 
that any knowledge which can benefit his people, shall be with- 
held. Provision is made for the opening of the book. Hence 
one of the elders says to him, 44 Weep not; behold, the Lion 
of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to 
open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." Why 
one of the elders should impart this information to John in 
preference to some other being, does not appear, unless it is 
that having been redeemed, they would be especially interested 



394 



THE REVELATION. 



in all that pertained to the welfare of the church on earth. 
Christ is here called the 6 ' Lion of the tribe of Juda. ' ' Why 
called a lion ? and why of the tribe of Judah ? — As to the 
first, it is probably to denote his strength. As the lion is the 
king of beasts, the monarch of the forest, he thus becomes a fit 
emblem of kingly authority and power. 4 ' Of the tribe of 
Juda." Doubtless he receives this appellation from the 
prophecy in Gen. 49 : 9, 10. 

The Root of David. — The source and sustainer of David 
as to his position and power. That David's position was spe- 
cially ordained of Christ, and that he was specially sustained 
by him, there can be no doubt. David was the type, Christ 
the antitype. David's throne and reign over Israel was a type 
of Christ's reign over his people. He shall reign upon the 
throne of his father David. Luke 1 : 32, 33. As Christ ap- 
peared in the line of David's descendants when he took upon 
himself our nature, he is also called the offspring of David, 
and a root out of the stem of Jesse. Isa. 11 : 1, 10; Rev. 
22 : 16. His connection with the throne of David being thus 
set forth, and his right thus shown to rule over the people of 
God, there was a propriety in intrusting to him the opening of 
the seals. 

Hath Prevailed. — These words indicate that the right to 
open the book was acquired by a victory gained in some pre- 
vious conflict; and so we find it set forth in subsequent por- 
tions of this chapter. The very next scene introduces us to the 
great work of Christ as the Redeemer of the world, and the 
shedding of his blood for the remission of sin and the salvation 
of man. In this work he was subjected to the fiercest assaults 
of Satan. But he endured his temptations, bore the agonies of 
the cross, rose a victor over death and the grave, made the 
way of redemption sure — triumphed ! Hence the four living 
beings and the four and twenty elders sing, ' ' Thou art worthy 
to take the book and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast 
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood." 

John looks to see the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and be- 
holds a Lamb in the midst of the throne and of the four living 
beings and the elders, as it had been slain. 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 5-7. 



395 



In the Midst of the Throne. — Doddridge translates thus: 
' 4 And I beheld in the middle space between the throne and 
the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders there 
stood a Lamb, ' ' etc. In the center of the scene was the throne 
of the Father, and standing in the open space which surrounded 
it was the Son, set forth under the symbol of a slain lamb. 
Around these there stood those saints who had been redeemed : 
first, those represented by the four living creatures, then the 
elders forming the second circle, and the angels (verse 11) 
forming a third circle. The worthiness of Christ, as he thus 
stands forth under the figure of a slain lamb, is the admiration 
of all the holy throng. 

As It Had Been Slain. — Woodhouse, as quoted in the Com- 
prehensive Commentary, says : ' ' The Greek implies that the 
Lamb appeared with a wounded neck and throat, as if smitten 
at the altar as a victim." On this phrase, Clarke says : " As 
if now in the act of being offered. This is very remarkable. 
So important is the sacrificial offering of Christ in the sight of 
God, that he is still represented as being in the very act of 
pouring out his blood for the offenses of man. This gives 
great advantage to faith; when any soul comes to the throne 
of grace, he finds a sacrifice there provided for him to offer 
to God." 

Seven Horns and Seven Eyes. — Horns are symbols of 
power, eyes of wisdom; and seven is a number denoting com- 
pleteness, or perfection. We are thus taught that perfect power 
and perfect wisdom inhere in the Lamb, through the operation 
of the Spirit of God, called the seven Spirits of God, to denote 
the fulness and perfection of its operation. 

He Came and Took the Book. — Commentators have found 
an incongruity in the idea that the book was taken by a lamb, 
and have had recourse to several expedients to avoid the diffi- 
culty. But is it not a well-established principle that any action 
may be attributed to a symbol which could be appropriately 
performed by the person or being represented by the symbol % 
And is not this all the explanation that the passage needs ? 
The lamb, we know, is a symbol of Christ. We know there 
is nothing incongruous in Christ's taking a book; and when we 



396 



THE REVELATION. 



read that the book was taken, we think of the action, not as 
performed by the lamb, but by the one of whom the lamb is a 
symbol. 

Verse 8. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four 
and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them 
harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. 9. 
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, 
and to open the seals thereof : for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us 
to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and 
nation ; 10. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and we 
shall reign on the earth. 

Vials Full of Odors. — From this expression we form an 
idea of the employment of those redeemed ones represented by 
the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders. They 
have golden vials, or vessels, full of odors — or, as the margin 
. reads, incense — which are the prayers of saints. This is a 
work of ministry such as pertains to priests. 

Scott says : ' 4 It is indisputably manifest that the four liv- 
ing creatures join in, or rather lead, the worship of the Lamb 
as having redeemed them to God; and this proves beyond con- 
troversy that part of the redeemed church is meant by this 
emblem, and, not angels, whose worship is next described, but 
in language evidently different. " 

A. Barnes, in his notes on this passage, remarks : < ' The 
idea here is, therefore, that the representatives of the church in 
heaven, the elders, spoken of as 'priests,' are described as 
officiating in the temple above in behalf of the church still 
below, and as offering incense while the church is engaged in 
prayer." 

The reader will remember that in the ancient typical 
service the high priest had many assistants; and when we con- 
sider that we are now looking into the sanctuary in heaven, 
the conclusion at once follows that these redeemed ones are the 
assistants of our great High Priest above. For this purpose 
they were doubtless redeemed. And what could be more ap- 
propriate than that our Lord, in his priestly work for the human 
race, should be assisted by noble members of that race, whose 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 8-10. 



397 



holiness of life, and purity of character, had fitted them to be 
raised up for that purpose % ( See remarks on chapter 4:4.) 

We are aware that many entertain a great aversion to the 
idea of there being anything real and tangible in heaven; and 
we can easily anticipate that the views here presented will be 
altogether too literal for such. To sustain themselves in their 
position, they dwell much on the fact that the language is 
highly figurative, and that we cannot suppose there are or 
were any such things in heaven as John describes. We reply 
that, though the Kevelation deals largely in figures, it does not 
deal in fictions. There is reality in all the things described ; 
and we gain an understanding of the reality when we get a 
correct interpretation of the figures. Thus, in this vision we 
know that the One upon the throne is God. He is really there. 
We know the Lamb symbolizes Christ. He too is really there. 
He ascended with a literal, tangible body; and who can say 
that he does not still retain it ? If, then, our great High Priest 
is a literal being, he must have a literal place in which to min- 
ister. And if the four living creatures and the four and 
twenty elders represent those- whom Christ led up from the 
captivity of death at the time of his resurrection and ascension, 
why are they not just as literal beings while there in heaven 
as they were when they ascended \ 

The Song. — It is called "a new song," new, probably, in 
respect to the occasion and the composition. They were the 
first that could sing it, being the first that were redeemed. 
They call themselves kings and priests. In what sense they 
are priests has already been noticed, they being the assistants of 
Christ in his priestly work. In the same sense, doubtless, they 
are also kings; for Christ is set down with his Father on his 
throne, and doubtless these, as ministers of his, have some part 
to act in connection with the government of heaven in refer- 
ence to this world. 

The Anticipation. — ' ' We shall reign on the earth. ' ' Thus, 
notwithstanding they are redeemed, and surround the throne 
of God, and are in the presence of the Lamb that redeemed 
them, and are surrounded with the angelic hosts of heaven, 



398 



THE REVELATION. 



where all is glory ineffable, their song contemplates a still 
higher state, when the great work of redemption shall be com- 
pleted, and they, with the whole redeemed family of God, of 
every age, shall reign on the earth, which is the promised in- 
heritance, and is to be the final and eternal residence of the 
saints. Eom. 4:13; Gal. 3:29; Ps. 37:11; Matt. 5:5; 2 
Peter 3 : 13; Isa. 65 : 17-25; Eev. 21 : 1-5. 

Verse 11. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round 
about the throne and the beasts and the elders : and the number of them 
was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands ; 12. 
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive 
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and 
blessing. 

The Heavenly Sanctuary. — How little conception have we 
of the magnitude and glory of the heavenly temple ! Into that 
temple John was introduced, at the opening of chapter 4, by 
the door which was opened in heaven. Into the same temple, be 
it remembered, he is still looking in verses 11 and 12. And 
now he beholds the heavenly hosts. ( 1 ) Pound about the 
throne are those represented by the four living creatures. ( 2 ) 
Next come the four and twenty elders. ( 3 ) Then John views, 
surrounding the whole, a multitude of the heavenly angels. How 
many ? How many would we suppose could convene within 
the heavenly temple 1 4 ' Ten thousand times ten thousand ! ' ' 
exclaims the seer. In this expression alone we have one hun- 
dred million ! And then, as if no numerical expression was 
adequate to embrace the countless throng, he further adds, 
< ' And thousands of thousands ! " Well might Paul call this, in 
Heb. 12 : 22, " an innumerable company of angels. " And these 
were in the sanctuary above. Such was the company that John 
saw assembled at the place where the worship of a universe 
centers, and where the wondrous plan of human redemption 
is going forward to completion. And the central object in 
this innumerable and holy throng was the Lamb of God; and 
the central act of his life, which claimed their admiration, 
was the shedding of his blood for the salvation of fallen man; 
for every voice in all that heavenly host joined in the ascrip- 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 11-14. 



399 



tion which was raised, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain 
to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and 
honor, and glory, and blessing. " Fitting assemblage for such 
a place ! Fitting song of adoration to be raised to Him who 
by the shedding of his blood became a ransom for many, and 
who, as our great High Priest, still pleads its merits in the 
sanctuary above in our behalf. And here, before such an 
august assemblage, must our characters soon come up in final 
review. What shall fit us for the searching ordeal I What 
shall enable us to rise and stand at last with the sinless throng 
above £ O, infinite merit of the blood of Christ ! which can 
cleanse us from all our pollutions, and make us meet to tread 
the holy hill of Zion ! O, infinite grace of God ! which can 
prepare us to endure the glory, and give us boldness to enter 
into his presence, even with exceeding joy ! 

Verse 13. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, 
and under the earth, and such as are in the sea. and all that are in them, 
heard I saying. Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him 
that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. 14. 
And the four beasts said. Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell 
down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. 

A Clean Universe. — In verse 13 we have an instance of 
what very frequently occurs in the Scriptures; namely, a decla- 
ration thrown in out of its chronological order for the purpose 
of following out to its completion some previous statement or 
allusion. In this instance the time is anticipated when redemp- 
tion is finished. In verse 10 the four living creatures and four 
and twenty elders had declared, " We shall reign on the earth." 
2vow the prophet's mind is carried forward to that time. The 
greatest act of Christ's intervention for man — the shedding of 
his blood — having been introduced, nothing could be more 
natural than that the vision should, for a moment, look over to 
the time when the grand result of the work then inaugurated 
should be accomplished, the number of the redeemed be made 
up, the universe be freed from sin and sinners, and a universal 
song of adoration go up to God and the Lamb. 

It is futile to attempt to apply this to the church in its 



400 



THE REVELATION. 



present state, as most commentators do, or to any time in the 
past since sin entered the world, or even since Satan fell from 
his high position as an angel of light and love in heaven. For 
at the time of which John speaks, every creature in heaven and 
on earth, without any exception, was sending up its anthem of 
blessings to God. But to speak only of this world since the fall, 
cursings instead of blessings have been breathed out against 
God and his throne from the great majority of our apostate 
race. And so it will ever be while sin reigns. 

We find, then, no place for this scene which John describes, 
unless we go forward, according to the position above taken, to 
the time when the whole scheme of redemption is completed, 
and the saints enter upon their promised reign on the earth, to 
which the living creatures and elders looked forward in their 
song in verse 10. With this view, all is harmonious and plain. 
That reign on the earth commences after the second resurrection. 
"Dan. 7 : 27; 2 Peter 3 : 13; Rev. 21 : 1. At that resurrection, 
which takes place a thousand years subsequently to the first 
resurrection (Kev. 20 : 4, 5), occurs the -perdition of ungodly 
men. 2 Peter 3 : 7. Then fire comes down from God out of 
heaven and devours them (Rev. 20:9); and this fire that causes 
the perdition of ungodly men is the fire that melts and purifies 
the earth, as we learn from 2 Peter 3 : 7-13. Then sin and 
sinners are destroyed, the earth is purified, the curse with all 
its ills is forever wiped away, the righteous u shine forth as the 
sun in the kingdom of their Father, ' ' and from a clean universe 
an anthem of praise and thanksgiving ascends to God. In all 
the fair domain of the great Creator, there is then no room for 
a vast receptacle of fire and brimstone, where myriads, pre- 
served by the direct power of a God of mercy, shall burn and 
writhe in unspeakable and eternal torment. In this glad an- 
them of jubilee there is no room for the discordant and hope- 
less wailings of the damned, and the curses and blasphemies of 
those who are sinning and suffering beyond the pale of hope. 
Every rebel voice has been hushed in death. They have been 
burned up root and branch, — Satan and all his followers, de- 
ceiver and deceived. Mai. 4:1: Heb. 2 : 14. Into smoke have 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 11-14. 



401 



they consumed away. Ps. 37 : 20. Like the perishable chaff 
have they vanished in the flames. Matt. 3:12. They have 
been annihilated, not as matter, but as conscious and intelligent 
beings; for they have become as though they had not been. 
Obadiah 16. 

To the Lamb, equally with the Father who sits upon the 
throne, praise is ascribed in this song of adoration. Commen- 
tators, with great unanimity, have seized upon this as proof 
that Christ must be coeval with the Father; for otherwise, say 
they, here would be worship paid to the creature which belongs 
only to the Creator. But this does not seem to be a necessary 
conclusion. The Scriptures certainly clearly intimate that the 
existence of Christ had a beginning (John 1:1), which was not 
so in the case of the Father. (See remarks on Rev. 3 : 14, where 
it is shown that Christ is not a created being.) But while he 
does not possess a co-eternity of past existence with the Father, 
the beginning of his existence, as the begotten of the Father, 
antedates the entire work of creation, in relation to which he 
stands a joint creator with God. John 1:3; Heb. 1:2. Could 
not the Father ordain that to such a being worship should be 
rendered equally with himself, without its being idolatry on the 
part of the worshiper ? He has raised him to positions which 
make it proper that he should be worshiped, and has even com- 
manded that worship should be rendered him, which would not 
have been necessary had he been equal with the Father in 
eternity of existence. Christ himself declares that "as the 
Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to 
have life in himself." John 5 : 26. The Father has "highly 
exalted him, and givenhim a name which is above every name." 
Phil. 2 : 9. And the Father himself says, "Let all the angels 
of God worship him." Heb. 1 : 6. These testimonies show 
that Christ is now an object of worship equally with the Father ; 
but they do not prove that with him he holds an eternity of 
past existence. 

Coming back from the glorious scene anticipated in verse 
13 to events transpiring in the heavenly sanctuary before him, 
the prophet hears the four living creatures exclaim, Amen. 
26 



Verse 1 . And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I 
heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, 
Come and see. 2. And I saw, and behold a white horse ; and he that sat 
on him had a bow ; ai.d a crown was given unto him : and he went forth 
conquering, and to conquer. 

AVI XG taken the book, the Lamb proceeds at once to 
open the seals; and the attention of the apostle is called 
to the scenes that transpire under each seal. The num- 
ber seven has already been noticed as denoting in the Scriptures 
completeness and perfection. The seven seals therefore em- 
brace the whole of a certain class of events, reaching down to 
the close of probationary time. Hence to say, as some do, 
that the seals denote a series of events reaching down perhaps 
to the time of Constantine, and the seven trumpets another 
series from that time farther on, cannot be correct. The trum- 
pets denote a series of events which transpire contemporane- 
ously with the events of the seals, but of an entirely different 
character. A trumpet is a symbol of war; hence the trumpets 
denote great political commotions to take place among the na- 
tions during the gospel age. The seals denote events of a 
religious character, and contain the history of the church from 
the opening of the Christian era to the coming of Christ. 

Commentators have raised a question concerning the man- 
ner in which these scenes were represented before the apostle. 
Was it merely a written description of the events which 
[402] 




CHAPTER 6, VERSES 1, 2. 



403 



was read to him as each successive seal was opened ? or was 
it a pictorial illustration of the events which the book con- 
tained, and which was presented before him as the seals were 
broken ? or was it a scenic representation which passed before 
him, the different actors coming forth and performing their 
parts ? Barnes decides in favor of calling them pictorial illus- 
trations; for he thinks a merely written description would not 
answer to the language of the apostle setting forth what he 
saw, and a mere scenic representation could have no connection 
with the opening of the seals. But to the view held by Dr. 
Barnes there are two serious objections : (1) The book was 
said to contain only writing within, not pictorial illustrations; 
and ( 2 ) John saw the characters which made up the various 
scenes, not fixed and motionless upon canvas, but living and 
moving, and engaging actively in the parts assigned them. 
The view which to us seems most consistent is that the book 
contained a record of events which were to transpire; and when 
the seals were broken, and the record was brought to light, the 
scenes were presented before John, not by the reading of the 
description, but by a representation of what was described in 
the book being made to pass before his mind in living charac- 
ters, in the place where the reality was to transpire; namely, on 
the earth. 

The first symbol, a white horse, and the rider who bears a 
bow, and to whom a crown is given, and who goes forth 
conquering and to conquer, is a fit emblem of the triumphs of 
the gospel in the first century of this dispensation. The white- 
ness of the horse denotes the purity of faith in that age; and 
the crown which was given to the rider, and his going forth 
conquering and to make still further conquests, the zeal and 
success with which the truth was promulgated by its earliest 
ministers. To this it is objected that the ministers of Christ 
and the progress of the gospel could not be properly repre- 
sented by such warlike symbols. But we ask, By what symbols 
could the work of Christianity better be represented when it 
went forth as an aggressive principle against the huge systems 
of error with which it had at first to contend ? The rider upon 



404 



THE REVELATION. 



this horse went forth — where 1 His commission was unlimited. 
The gospel was to all the world. 

Vekse 3. And when he had opened the second seal. I heard the 
second beast say, Come and see. 4. And there went out another horse 
that was red : and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace 
from the earth, and that they should kill one another : and there was 
given unto him a great sword. 

Perhaps the first noticeable feature in these symbols is the 
contrast in the color of the horses. This is doubtless designed 
to be significant. If the whiteness of the first horse denoted 
the purity of the gospel in the period which that symbol covers, 
the redness of the second horse would signify that in this period 
that original purity began to be corrupted. The mystery of 
iniquity already worked in Paul's day ; and the professed 
church of Christ, it would seem, was now so far corrupted by 
. it as to require this change in the color of the symbol. Errors 
began to arise. Worldliness came in. The ecclesiastical power 
sought the alliance of the secular. Troubles and commotions 
were the result. The spirit of this period perhaps reached its 
climax as we come down to the days of Constantine, the first 
so-called Christian emperor, whose conversion to Christianity is 
dated by Mosheim in a. d. 3:23. — Ecclesiastical Commt-ntaries. 

Of this period, Dr. Rice remarks : "It represents a secular 
period, or union of church and state. Constantine aided the 
clergy, and put them under obligations to him. He legislated 
for the church, called the Council of Xicaea, and was most 
prominent in that Council. Constantine, not the gospel, had 
the glory of tearing down the heathen temples. The state had 
the glory instead of the church. Constantine made decrees 
against some errors, and was praised, and suffered to go on and 
introduce many other errors, and oppose some important truths. 
Controversies arose; and when a new emperor took the throne, 
there was a rush of the clergy to get him on the side of then- 
peculiar tenets. Mosheim says of this period. ' There was con- 
tinual war and trouble.' " 

This state of things answers well to the declaration of the 
prophet that power was given to him that sat on the horse 4 ' to 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 3-6. 



405 



take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one 
another : and there was given unto him a great sword. ' ' The 
Christianity of that time had mounted the throne, and bore the 
emblem of the civil power. 

Veese 5. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third 
beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse ; and he 
that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6, And I heard a 
voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, 
and three measures of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not the oil 
and the wine. 

How rapidly the work of corruption progresses ! What a 
contrast in color between this symbol and the first one : A 
black horse — the very opposite of white ! A period of great 
darkness and moral corruption in the church must be denoted 
by this symbol. By the events of the second seal the way was 
fully opened for that state of things to be brought about which 
is here presented. The time that intervened between the reign 
of Constantine and the establishment of the papacy in a. d. 
538 may be justly noted as the time when the darkest errors 
and grossest superstitions sprung up in the church.. Of a 
period immediately succeeding the days of Constantine, Mo- 
sheim says : — 

' c Those vain fictions, which an attachment to the Platonic 
philosophy and to popular opinions had engaged the greatest 
part of the Christian doctors to adopt before the time of 
Constantine, were now confirmed, enlarged, and embellished in 
various ways. Hence arose that extravagant veneration for 
departed saints, and those absurd notions of a certain fire des- 
tined to purify separate souls, that now prevailed, and of which 
the public marks were everywhere to be seen. Hence also the 
celibacy of priests, the worship of images and relics, which in 
process of time almost utterly destroyed the Christian religion, 
or at least eclipsed its luster, and corrupted its very essence in 
the most deplorable manner. An enormous train of supersti- 
tions was gradually substituted for true religion and genuine 
piety. This odious revolution proceeded from a variety of 
causes. A ridiculous precipitation in receiving new opinions, 



406 



THE REVELATION. 



a preposterous desire of imitating the pagan rites, and of blend- 
ing them with the Christian worship, and that idle propensity 
which the generality of mankind have toward a gaudy and 
ostentatious religion, all contributed to establish the reign of 
superstition upon the ruins of Christianity. Accordingly, fre- 
quent pilgrimages were undertaken to Palestine, and to the 
tombs of the martyrs, as if there alone the sacred principles of 
virtue and the certain hope of salvation were to be acquired. 
The reins being once let loose to superstition, which knows no 
bounds, absurd notions and idle ceremonies multiplied almost 
every day. Quantities of dust and earth brought from Pal- 
estine, and other places remarkable for their supposed sanctity, 
were handed about as the most powerful remedies against the 
violence of wicked spirits, and were sold and bought every- 
where at enormous prices. The public processions and suppli- 
cations by which the pagans endeavored to appease their gods, 
were now adopted into the Christian worship, and celebrated in 
many places with great pomp and magnificence. The. virtues 
which had formerly been ascribed to the heathen temples, to 
their lustrations, to the statues of their gods and heroes, were 
now attributed to Christian churches, to water consecrated by 
certain forms of prayer, and to the images of holy men. And 
the same privileges that the former enjoyed under the darkness 
of paganism, were conferred upon the latter under the light of 
the gospel, or, rather, under that cloud of superstition which 
was obscuring its glory. It is true that, as yet, images were 
not very common, nor were there any statues at all. But it is 
at the same time as undoubtedly certain as it is extravagant 
and monstrous, that the worship of the martyrs was modeled, 
by degrees, according to the religious services that were paid to 
the gods before the coming of Christ. 

' ' From these facts, which are but small specimens of the 
state of Christianity at this time, the discerning reader will 
easily perceive what detriment the church received from the 
peace and prosperity procured by Constantine, and from the 
imprudent methods employed to allure the different nations to 
embrace the gospel. The brevity we have proposed to observe 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 3-6. 



407 



in this history prevents our entering into an ample detail of the 
dismal effects that arose from the progress and the baneful 
influence of superstition, which had now become universal." 

Again he says : < ' A whole volume would be requisite to 
contain an enumeration of the various frauds which artful 
knaves practiced with success, to delude the ignorant, when 
true religon was almost entirely superseded by horrid supersti- 
tion. " — Ecclesiastical History, l^th cent., part 2, chap. 3. 

This extract from Mosheim contains a description of the 
period covered by the black horse of the third seal that answers 
accurately to the prophecy. It is seen by this how paganism 
was incorporated into Christianity, and how, during this period, 
the false system which resulted in the establishment of the 
papacy, rapidly rounded out to its full outlines, and ripened 
into all its deplorable perfection of strength and stature. 

The Balances. — "The balances denoted that religion and 
civil power would be united in the person who would adminis- 
ter the executive power in the government, and that he would 
claim the judicial authority both in church and state. This 
was true among the Roman emperors from the days of Con- 
stantine until the reign of Justinian, when he gave the same 
judicial power to the bishop of Rome." — Millers Lectures, 
p. 181. 

The Wheat and Barley. — u The measures of wheat and 
barley for a penny denote that the members of the church 
would be eagerly engaged after worldly goods, and the love of 
money would be the prevailing spirit of the times; for they 
would dispose of anything for money. ' ' — Id. 

The Oil and Wine. — These "denote the graces of the 
Spirit, faith and love, and there was great danger of hurting 
these, under the influence of so much of a worldly spirit. And 
it is well attested by all historians that the prosperity of the 
church in this age produced the corruptions which finally ter- 
minated in the falling away, and the setting up of the anti- 
Christian abominations . ' ' — Id. 

It will be observed that the voice limiting the amount of 
wheat for a penny, and saying, "Hurt not the oil and the 



408 



THE REVELATION. 



wine, ' ' is not spoken by any one on earth, but comes from the 
midst of the four living creatures; signifying that, though the 
under shepherds, the professed ministers of Christ on earth, 
had no care for the flock, yet the Lord was not unmindful of 
them in this period of darkness. A voice comes from heaven. 
He takes care that the spirit of worldliness does not prevail to 
such a degree that Christianity should be entirely lost, or that 
the oil and the wine, the graces of genuine piety, should 
entirely perish from the earth. 

Verse 7. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice 
of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8. And I looked, and behold a 
pale horse : and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed 
with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the 
earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the 
beasts of the earth. 

The color of this horse is remarkable. The colors of the 
white, red, and black horses, mentioned in the preceding 
verses, are natural; but a pale color is unnatural. The orig- 
inal word denotes the ' ' pale or yellowish color ' ' that is seen 
in blighted or sickly plants. A strange state of things in the 
professed church must be denoted by this symbol. The rider 
on this horse is named Death; and Hell (V'c%, the grave) follows 
with him. The mortality is so great during this period that it 
would seem as if " the pale nations of the dead " had come 
upon earth, and were following in the wake of this desolating 
power. The period during which this seal applies can hardly 
be mistaken. It must refer to the time in which the papacy 
bore its unrebuked, unrestrained, and persecuting rule, com- 
mencing about a. d. 538, and extending to the time when the 
Reformers commenced their work of exposing the corruptions 
of the papal system. 

' ' And power was given unto them ' ' — him, says the mar- 
gin; that is, the power personified by Death on the pale horse; 
namely, the papacy. By the fourth part of the earth is doubt- 
less meant the territory over which this power had jurisdiction; 
while the words sword, hunger, death (that is, some infliction 
which causes death, as exposure, torture, etc.), and beasts of 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 7-11. 



409 



the earth, are figures denoting the means by which it has put 
to death its martyrs, fifty million of whom, according to the 
lowest estimate, call for vengeance from beneath its bloody 
altar. 

Verse 9. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the 
altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the 
testimony which they held : 10. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, 
How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge , and avenge our 
blood on them that dwell on the earth ? 11. And white robes were given 
unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest 
yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, 
that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. 

The events set forth as transpiring under the fifth seal are 
the crying of the martyrs for vengeance, and the giving to them 
of white robes. The questions that at once suggest themselves 
for solution are, Does this seal cover a period of time ? and if 
so, what period ? Where is the altar under which these souls 
were seen ? What are these souls, and what is their condition ? 
What is meant by their cry for vengeance ? What is meant by 
white robes being given to them ? When do they rest for a little 
season ? and what is signified by their brethren being killed as 
they were ? To all these questions we believe a satisfactory 
answer can be returned. 

1. The Fifth Seal Covers a Period of Time. — It seems con- 
sistent that this seal, like all the others, should cover a period 
of time; and the date of its application cannot be mistaken, if 
the preceding seals have been rightly located. Following the 
period of the papal persecution, the time covered by this seal 
would commence when the Reformation began to undermine 
the antichristian papal fabric, and restrain the persecuting 
power of the Romish Church. 

2. The Altar. — This cannot denote any altar in heaven, as 
it is evidently the place where these victims had been slain, — 
the altar of sacrifice. On this point, Dr. A. Clarke says : "A 
symbolical vision was exhibited, in which he saw an altar. 
And under it the souls of those who had been slain for the 
word of God — martyred for their attachment to Christianity — 
are represented as being newly slain as victims to idolatry and 



410 



THE REVELATION. 



superstition. The altar is upon earth, not in heaven." A 
confirmation of this view is found in the fact that John is be- 
holding scenes upon the earth. The souls are represented 
under the altar, just as victims slain upon it would pour out 
their blood beneath it, and fall by its side. 

3. The Souls under the Altar. — This representation is 
popularly regarded as a strong proof of the doctrine of the dis- 
embodied and conscious state of the dead. Here, it is claimed, 
are souls seen by John in a disembodied state; and they were 
conscious, and had knowledge of passing events; for they cried 
for vengeance on their persecutors. This view of the passage 
is inadmissible, for several reasons : (1) The popular view 
places these souls in heaven; but the altar of sacrifice on which 
they were slain, and beneath which they were seen, cannot be 
there. The only altar we read of in heaven is the altar of in- 
cense; but it would not be correct to represent victims just 
slain as under the altar of incense, as that altar was never 
devoted to such a use. (2) It would be repugnant to all our 
ideas of the heavenly state, to represent souls in heaven shut 
up under an altar. (3) Can we suppose that the idea of ven- 
geance would reign so supreme in the minds of souls in heaven 
as to render them, despite the joy and glory of that ineffable 
state, dissatisfied and uneasy till vengeance was inflicted upon 
their enemies ? Would they not rather rejoice that persecution 
raised its hand against them, and thus hastened them into the 
presence of their Redeemer/ at whose right hand there is ful- 
ness of joy, and pleasures forevermore ? But, further, the 
popular view which puts these souls in heaven, puts the wicked 
at the same time in the lake of fire, writhing in unutterable 
torment, and in f ull view of the heavenly host. This, it is 
claimed, is proved by the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, 
as recorded in Luke 16. Now the souls brought to view under 
the fifth seal were those who had been slain under the preced- 
ing seal, scores of years, and most of them centuries, before. 
Beyond any question, their persecutors had all passed off the 
stage of action, and, according to the view under consideration, 
were suffering all the torments of hell right before their eyes. 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 7-11. 



411 



Yet, as if not satisfied with this, they cry to God as though he 
were delaying vengeance on their murderers. What greater 
vengeance could they want ? Or, if their persecutors were still 
on the earth, they must know that they would, in a few years 
at most, join the vast multitude daily pouring through the gate 
of death into the world of woe. Their amiability is put in no 
better light even by this supposition. One thing, at least, is 
evident : The popular theory concerning the condition of the 
dead, righteous and wicked, cannot be correct, or the interpre- 
tation usually given to this passage is not correct; for they 
devour each other. 

But it is urged that these souls must be conscious; for they 
cry to God. This argument would be of weight, were there 
no such figure of speech as personification. But while there 
is, it will be proper, on certain conditions, to attribute life, 
action, and intelligence to inanimate objects. Thus the blood 
of Abel is said to have cried to God from the ground. Gen. 
4 : 9, 10. The stone cried out of the wall, and the beam out 
of the timber answered it. Hab. 2: 11. The hire of the labor- 
ers kept back by fraud cried, and the cry entered into the ears 
of the Lord of sabaoth. James 5:4. So the souls mentioned 
in our text could cry, and not thereby be proved to be conscious. 

The incongruity of the popular view on this verse is so 
apparent that Albert Barnes makes the following concession : 
" We are not to suppose that this literally occurred, and that 
John actually saw the souls of the martyrs beneath the altar, 
for the whole representation is symbolical; nor are we to sup- 
pose that the injured and the wronged in heaven actually pray 
for vengeance on those who wronged them, or that the re- 
deemed in heaven will continue to pray with reference to things 
on earth; but it may be fairly inferred from this that there will 
be as real a remembrance of the wrongs of the persecuted, the 
injured, and the oppressed, as if such a prayer were offered 
there; and that the oppressor has as much to dread from the 
divine vengeance as if those whom he has injured should cry 
in heaven to the God who hears prayer, and who takes ven- 
geance." — JYotes on Revelation 6. 



412 



THE REVELATION. 



On such passages as this, the reader is misled by the popu- 
lar definition of the word soul. From that definition, he is 
led to suppose that this text speaks of an immaterial, invisible, 
immortal essence in man, which soars into its coveted freedom 
on the death of its hindrance and clog, the mortal body. No 
instance of the occurrence of the word in the original Hebrew 
or Greek will sustain such a definition. It oftenest means life, 
and is not unfrequently rendered person. It applies to the 
dead as well as to the living, as may be seen by reference to 
Gen. 2 : 7, where the word living need not have been ex- 
pressed were life an inseparable attribute of the soul; and to 
Num. 19 : 13, where the Hebrew Concordance reads, "dead 
soul. " Moreover, these souls pray that their blood may be 
avenged, — an article which the immaterial soul, as popularly 
understood, is not supposed to possess. The word souls may 
be regarded as here meaning simply the martyrs, those who 
"had been slain, the words, souls of them, being a periphra- 
sis for the whole person. They were represented to John as 
having been slain upon the altar of papal sacrifice, on this 
earth, and lying dead beneath it. They certainly were not 
alive when John saw them under the fifth seal; for he again 
brings to view the same company, in almost the same lan- 
guage, and assures us that the first time they live after their 
martyrdom, is at the resurrection of the just. Rev. 20 : 4-6. 
Lying there, victims of papal bloodthirstiness and oppression, 
they cried to God for vengeance, in the same manner that 
Abel's blood cried to him from the ground. Gen. 4 : 10. 

4. The White Robes. — These were given as a partial answer 
to their cry, "How long, O Lord, dost thou not judge and 
avenge our blood ? " How was it ? — They had gone down to 
the grave in the most ignominious manner. Their lives had 
been misrepresented, their reputations tarnished, their names 
defamed, their motives maligned, and their graves covered with 
shame and reproach, as containing the dishonored dust of the 
most vile and despicable of characters. Thus the Church of 
Rome, which then molded the sentiment of the principal na- 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 7-11, 



413 



tions of the earth, spared no pains to make her victims an 
abhorring unto all flesh. 

But the Reformation began its work. It began to be seen 
that the church was the corrupt and disreputable party, and 
those against whom it vented its rage were the good, the pure, 
and the true. The work went on among the most enlightened 
nations, the reputation of the church going down, and that of 
the martyrs coming up, until the corruptions of the papal abomi- 
nations were fully exposed, and that huge system of iniquity 
stood forth before the world in all its naked deformity, while 
the martyrs were vindicated from all the aspersions under which 
that anti-Christian church had sought to bury them. Then it was 
seen that they had suffered, not for being vile and criminal, but 
1 'for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held." 
Then their praises were sung, their virtues admired, their forti- 
tude applauded, their names honored, and their memories cher- 
ished. White robes were thus given unto every one of them. 

5. The Little Season. — The cruel work of Romanism did 
not altogether cease, even after the work of the Reformation 
had become wide-spread and well established. Not a few ter- 
rible outbursts of Romish hate and persecution were yet to be 
felt by the church. Multitudes more were to be punished as 
heretics, and to join the great army of martyrs. The full vin- 
dication of their cause was to be delayed a little season. And 
during this time, Rome added hundreds of thousands to the 
vast throng of whose blood she had already become guilty. 
(See Buck's Theological Dictionary, art. Persecution.) But 
the spirit of persecution was finally restrained; the cause of the 
martyrs was vindicated; and the ''little season" of the fifth 
seal came to a close. 

Verse 12. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo. 
there was a great earthquake ; and the sun became black as sackcloth of 
hair, and the moon became as blood : 13. And the stars of heaven fell 
unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is 
shaken of a mighty wind. 14. And the heaven departed as a scroll when 
it is rolled together ; and every mountain and island were moved out of 
their places. 15. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the 



414 



THE REVELATION, 



rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond 
man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of 
the mountains ; 16. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, 
and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the 
wrath of the Lamb: 17. For the great day of his wrath is come; and 
who shall be able to stand ? 

Such are the solemn and sublime scenes that transpire 
under the sixth seal. And a thought well calculated to 
awaken in every heart an intense interest in divine things, is 
the consideration that we are now living amid the momentous 
events of this seal, as will presently be proved. 

Between the fifth and sixth seals there seems to be a sudden 
and entire change in the language, from the highly figurative 
to the strictly literal. Whatever may be the cause of this 
change, the change itself cannot well be denied. By no prin- 
ciple of interpretation can the language of the preceding seals 
be made to be literal, nor can the language of this any more 
easily be made to be figurative. We must therefore accept the 
change, even though we should be unable to explain it. There 
is a great fact, however, to which we would here call attention. 
It was to be in the period covered by this seal that the prophetic 
portions of God's word were to be unsealed, and many run to 
and fro, or u give their sedulous attention to the understanding 
of these things," and thereby knowledge on this part of God's 
word was to be greatly increased. And we suggest that it 
may be for this reason that the change in the language here 
occurSj and that the events of this seal, transpiring at a time 
when these things were to be fully understood, are couched in 
no figures, but are laid before us in plain and unmistakable 
language. 

The Great Earthquake. — The first event under this seal, 
perhaps the one which marks its opening, is a great earthquake. 
As the more probable fulfilment of this prediction, we refer to 
the great earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, known as the earth- 
quake of Lisbon. Of this earthquake, Sears, in his Wonders 
of the World, pp. 50, 58, 381, says: — 

"The great earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, extended over a 
tract of at least 4,000,000 square miles 0 Its effects were 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 12-17. 



415 



even extended to the waters in many places, where the shocks 
were not perceptible. It pervaded the greater portion of Europe, 
Africa, and America; but its extreme violence was exercised 
on the southwestern part of the former. In Africa, this earth- 
quake was felt almost as severely as it had been in Europe. A 
great part of Algiers was destroyed. Many houses were 
thrown down at Fez and Mequinez, and multitudes were buried 
beneath the ruins. Similar effects were realized at Morocco. 
Its effects were likewise felt at Tangier, at Tetuan, at Funchal 
in the Island of Madeira. It is probable that all Africa was 
shaken. At the north, it extended to Norway and Sweden. 
Germany, Holland, France, Great Britain, and Ireland were 
all more or less agitated by the same great commotion of the 
elements. Lisbon (Portugal), previous to the earthquake in 
1755, contained 150,000 inhabitants. Mr. Barretti says that 
90,000 persons "were lost on that fatal day." 

On page 200 of the same work, we again read : " The ter- 
ror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept; it 
was beyond tears. They ran hither and thither, delirious with 
horror and astonishment, beating their faces and breasts, cry- 
ing, ' Misericordia ; the world 's at an end ! ' Mothers forgot 
their children, and ran about loaded with crucifixed images. 
Unfortunately, many ran to the churches for protection; but 
in vain was the sacrament exposed; in vain did the poor crea- 
tures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people were 
buried in one common ruin." 

The Encyclopedia Americana states that this earthquake 
extended also to Greenland, and of its effects upon the city of 
Lisbon further says : " The city then contained about 150,000 
inhabitants. The shock was instantly followed by the fall of 
every church and convent, almost all the large and public build- 
ings, and more than one fourth of the houses. In about two 
hours after the shock, fires broke out in different quarters, and 
raged with such violence for the space of nearly three days that 
the city was completely desolated. The earthquake happened 
on a holy day, when the churches and convents were full of 
people, very few of whom escaped." 



416 



THE REVELATION. 



Sir Charles Lyell gives the following graphic description of 
this remarkable phenomenon : — 

"In no part of the volcanic region of southern Europe has 
so tremendous an earthquake occurred in modern times as that 
which began on the 1st of November, 1755, at Lisbon. A sound 
of thunder was heard underground, and immediately afterward 
a violent shock threw down the greater part of that city. In the 
course of about six minutes, sixty thousand persons perished. 
The sea first retired, and laid the bar dry; it then rolled in, 
rising fifty feet above its ordinary level. The mountains of 
Arrabida, Estrella, Julio, Marvan, and Cintra, being some of 
the largest in Portugal, were impetuously shaken, as it were 
from their very foundations; and some of them opened at their 
summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful manner, huge 
masses of them being thrown down into the subjacent valleys. 
Flames are related to have issued from these mountains, which 
- are supposed to have been electric ; they are also said to have 
smoked; but vast clouds of dust may have given rise to this 
appearance. 

"The most extraordinary circumstance which occurred at 
Lisbon during the catastrophe, was the subsidence of the new 
quay, built entirely of marble, at an immense expense. A great 
concourse of people had collected there for safety, as a spot 
where they might be beyond the reach of falling ruins; but 
suddenly the quay sunk down with all the people on it, and 
not one of the dead bodies ever floated to the surface. A great 
number of boats and small vessels anchored near it, all full of 
people, were swallowed up as in a whirlpool. No fragments 
of these wrecks ever rose again to the surface, and the water in 
the place where the quay had stood is stated, in many accounts, 
to be unfathomable; but Whitehurst says he ascertained it to be 
one hundred fathoms. 

6 ' In this case, we must either suppose that a certain tract 
sunk down into a subterranean hollow, which would cause a 
' fault ' in the strata to the depth of six hundred feet, or we 
may infer, as some have done, from the entire disappearance of 
the substances engulfed, that a chasm opened and closed again. 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 12-17. 



417 



Yet in adopting this latter hypothesis, we must suppose that the 
upper part of the chasm, to the depth of one hundred fathoms, 
remained open after the shock. According to the observations 
made at Lisbon in 1837 by Mr. Sharpe, the destroying effects 
of this earthquake were confined to the tertiary strata, and were 
most violent on the blue clay, on which the lower part of the 
city is constructed. Not a building, he says, on the secondary 
limestone or the basalt was injured. 

"The great area over which this Lisbon earthquake ex- 
tended is very remarkable. The movement was most violent 
in Spain, Portugal, and the north of Africa; but nearly the 
whole of Europe, and even the West Indies, felt the shock on 
the same day. A seaport called St. Ubes, about twenty miles 
south of Lisbon, was engulfed. At Algiers and Fez in Africa, 
the agitation of the earth was equally violent, and at the dis- 
tance of eight leagues from Morocco, a village, with the inhab- 
itants, to the number of about eight or ten thousand persons, 
together with all their cattle, were swallowed up. Soon after, 
the earth closed again over them. 

< ' The shock was felt at sea, on the deck of a ship to the 
west of Lisbon, and produced very much the same sensation 
as on dry land. Off St. Lucas, the captain of the ship 4 Nancy ' 
felt his vessel so violently shaken that he thought she had 
struck the ground, but, on heaving the lead, found a great 
depth of water. Captain Clark, from Denia, in latitude 36° 
24' N., between nine and ten in the morning, had his ship 
shaken and strained as if she had struck upon a rock. An- 
other ship, forty leagues west of St. Yincent, experienced so 
violent a concussion that the men were thrown a foot and a 
half perpendicularly up from the deck. In Antigua and 
Barbadoes, as also in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Holland, 
Corsica, Switzerland, and Italy, tremors and slight oscillations 
of the ground were felt. 

4 ' The agitation of lakes, rivers, and springs in Great Britain 
was remarkable. At Loch Lomond, in Scotland, for example, 
the water, without the least apparent cause, rose against its 
banks, and then subsided below its usual level. The greatest 
27 



418 



THE REVELATION. 



perpendicular hight of this swell was two feet four inches. It 
is said that the movement of this earthquake was undulatory, 
and that it traveled at the rate of twenty miles a minute. A 
great wave swept over the coast of Spain, and is said to have 
been sixty feet high at Cadiz. At Tangier, in Africa, it rose 
and fell eighteen times on the coast; at Funchal, in Madeira, 
it rose full fifteen feet perpendicular above high-water mark, 
although the tide, which ebbs and flows there seven feet, was 
then at half ebb. Besides entering the city and committing 
great havoc, it overflowed other seaports in the island. At 
Kinsale, in Ireland, a body of water rushed into the harbor, 
whirled round several vessels, and poured into the market- 
place. 

' ' It was before stated that the sea first retired at Lisbon ; 
and this retreat of the ocean from the shore at the commence- 
ment of an earthquake, and its subsequent return in a violent 
wave, is a common occurrence. In order to account for the 
phenomenon, Mitchell imagines a subsidence at the bottom of 
the sea from the giving way of the roof of some cavity, in con- 
sequence of a vacuum produced by the condensation of steam. 
Such condensation, he observes, might be the first effect of the 
introduction of a large body of water into fissures and cavities 
already filled with steam, before there had been sufficient time 
for the heat of the incandescent lava to turn so large a supply 
of water into steam, which, being soon accomplished, causes a 
greater explosion. " — Library of Choice Literature, Vol. VII, 
pp, 162, 163. 

If the reader will look on his atlas at the countries above 
mentioned, he will see how large a portion of the earth's sur- 
face was agitated by this awful convulsion. Other earthquakes 
may have been as severe in particular localities, but no other 
one of which we have any record, combining so great an extent 
with such a degree of severity, has ever been felt on this earth. 
It certainly supplies all the conditions necessary to constitute it 
a fitting event to mark the opening of the seal. 

The Darkening of the Sun. — Following the earthquake, it 
is announced that « tlxe sun became black as sackcloth of hair,' 5 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 12-17. 



419 



This portion of the prediction has also been fulfilled. Into a 
detailed account of the wonderful darkening of the sun, May 
19, 1780, we need not here enter. Most persons of general 
reading, it is presumed, have seen some account of it. The 
following detached declarations from different authorities will 
give an idea of its nature : — 

"The dark day of Northern America was one of those 
wonderful phenomena of nature which will always be read of 
with interest, but which philosophy is at a loss to explain." — 
Herschel. 

"In the month of May, 1780, there was a terrific dark 
day in New England, when ' all faces seemed to gather black- 
ness, ' and the people were filled with fear. There was great 
distress in the village where Edward Lee lived, 'men's hearts 
failing them for fear ' that the Judgment-day was at hand ; 
and the neighbors all flocked around the holy man," who 
' ' spent the gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the distressed 
multitude." — Tract No. 379, American Tract Society / Life 
of Edward Lee. 

4 ' Candles were lighted in many houses. Birds were silent 
and disappeared. Fowls retired to roost. It was the general 
opinion that the Day of Judgment was at hand." — Pres. 
Dicight, in Ct. Historical Collections. 

"The darkness was such as to occasion farmers to leave 
their work in the field, and retire to their dwellings. Lights 
became necessary to the transaction of business within doors. 
The darkness continued through the day." — Gage's History 
of Rowley, Mass. 

4 4 The cocks crew as at daybreak, and everything bore the 
appearance and gloom of night. The alarm produced by this 
unusual aspect of the heavens was very great." — Portsmouth 
Journal, May W, 1843. 

< ' It was midnight darkness at noonday. . . . Thou- 
sands of people who could not account for it from natural 
causes, were greatly terrified; and indeed, it cast a universal 
gloom on the earth. The frogs and night-hawks began their 
notes/' — Dr. Adams. 



420 



THE REVELATION. 



' ' Similar days have occasionally been known, though in- 
ferior in the degree or extent of their darkness. The causes of 
these phenomena are unknown. They certainly were not the 
result of eclipses." — Sears' 's Guide to Knovdedge. 

' ' Almost, if not altogether alone, as the most mysterious 
and yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind in nature's diver- 
sified range of events, during the last century, stands the dark 
day of 2fay 19th, 1780, — a most unaccountable darkening of 
the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New England, — 
which brought intense alarm and distress to multitudes of 
minds, as well as dismay to the brute creation, the fowls flee- 
ing, bewildered, to their roosts, and the birds to their nests, 
and the cattle returning to their stalls. Indeed, thousands of 
the good people of that day became fully convinced that the 
end of all things terrestrial had come. . . . The extent of 
'this darkness was also very remarkable. It was observed at 
the most easterly regions of Isew England; westward to the 
farthest parts of Connecticut, and at Albany; to the south- 
ward, it was observed all along the seacoast; and to the 
north, as far as the American settlements extended. It prob- 
ably far exceeded these boundaries, but the exact limits were 
never positively known." — Our First Century, by R. 31. 
Devens, pj?. 89, 90. 

The poet Whittier thus speaks of this event : — 

" 'T was on a May-day of the far old year 
Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell 
Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring. 
Over the fresh earth and the heaven of noon, 
A horror of great darkness, like the night 
In day of which the Norland sages tell — 
The Twilight of the Gods. The low-hung sky 
Was black with ominous clouds, save where its rim 
Was fringed with a dull glow, like that which climbs 
The crater's sides from the red hell below. 
Birds ceased to sing, and all the barnyard fowls 
Roosted : the cattle at the pasture bars 
Lowed, and looked homeward : bats on leathern wings 
Flitted abroad : the sounds of labor died ; 
Men prayed, and women wept ; all ears grew sharp 
To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 12-17. 



421 



The black sky, that the dreadful face of Christ 
Might look from the rent clouds, not as he looked 
A loving guest in Bethany, but stern 
As justice and inexorable law." 

The next most notable dark day, compared with that of 
1780, was in 1762. Of this, Mr. Devens (Our First Century, 
p. 96) speaks as follows : — 

* ' There was also a .remarkable darkness at Detroit and 
vicinity, Oct. 19, 1762, being almost total for the greater part 
of the day. It was dark at daybreak, and this continued till 
nine o'clock, when it cleared up a little, and for the space of 
about a quarter of an hour, the body of the sun was visible, it 
appearing as red as blood, and more than three times as large 
as usual. The air all this time was of a dingy yellowish color. 
At half past one o'clock it was so dark as to necessitate the 
lighting of candles, in order to attend to domestic duties. At 
about three in the afternoon the darkness became more dense, 
increasing in intensity until half past three, when the wind 
breezed up from the southwest, and brought on a slight fall of 
rain, accompanied with a profuse quantity of fine, black parti- 
cles, in appearance much like sulphur, both in smell and 
quality. A sheet of clean paper held out in the rain was ren- 
dered quite black wherever the drops fell upon it; but when 
held near the fire, it turned to a yellow color, and, when 
burned, it fizzed on the paper like Wet powder. So black did 
these powdery particles turn everything upon which they fell, 
that even the river was covered with a black froth, which, 
when skimmed off the surface, resembled the lather of soap, 
with this difference, that it was more greasy, and its color as 
black as ink. At seven in the evening the air was more clear. 
This phenomenon was observed throughout a vast region of 
country; and though various conjectures were indulged in as to 
the cause of so extraordinary an occurrence, the same degree of 
mystery attaches to it as to that of 1780, confounding the 
wisdom even of the most learned philosophers and men of 
science." 

Let it be noticed that this darkness also falls within the 



* 



422 



THE REVELATION. 



time specified in the prophecy for the occurrence of this sign: 
namely, between the years 1755 and 1798. This point is fur- 
ther discussed on pages 426-431. 

The Moon Became as Blood. — The darkness of the follow- 
ing night, May 19, 1780, was as unnatural as that of the day 
had been. 

" The darkness of the following evening was probably as 
gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty fiat gave 
birth to light. I could not help conceiving at the time that if 
every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in 
impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness 
could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper 
held within a few inches of the eyes, was equally invisible with 
the blackest velvet."' — Mr. Tenney, of Exeter, N. II. , quoted 
by Mr. Gage to the 4 1 Historical Society. ' ' 

Dr. Adams, already quoted, wrote concerning the night 
following the dark day : — 

' f Almost every one who happened to be out in the evening- 
got lost in going home. The darkness was as uncommon in 
the night as it was in the day, as the moon had fulled the day 
before. ' ' 

This statement respecting the phase of the moon proves the 
impossibility of an eclipse of the sun at that time. 

And whenever on this memorable night the moon did appear, 
as at certain times it did, it had, according to this prophecy, the 
appearance of blood. 

And the Stars of Heaven Fell. — The voice of history still 
is, Fulfilled ! Being a much later event than the darkening of 
the sun, there are multitudes in whose memories it is as fresh 
as though it were but yesterday. We refer to the great mete- 
oric shower of ISoy. 13, 1833. On this point a few extracts 
will suffice. 

' ' At the cry, 4 Look out of the window, ' I sprang from a 
deep sleep, and with wonder saw the east lighted up with the 
dawn and meteors. ... I called to my wife to behold; and 
while robing, she exclaimed, 4 See how the stars fall ! ' I 
replied, 4 That is the wonder;* and we felt in our hearts that 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 12-17. 



423 



it was a sign of the last days. For truly ' the stars of heaven 
fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, 
when she is shaken of a mighty wind.' Eev. 6 : 13. This lan- 
guage of the prophet has always been received as metaphorical. 
Yesterday it was literally fulfilled. The ancients understood by 
aster in Greek, and stella in Latin, the smaller lights of heaven. 
The refinement of modern astronomy has made distinction be- 
tween stars of heaven and meteors of heaven. Therefore the 
idea of the prophet, as it is expressed in the original Greek, 
was literally fulfilled in the phenomenon of yesterday, so as no 
man before yesterday had conceived to be possible that it should 
be fulfilled. The immense size and distance of the planets 
and fixed stars forbid the idea of their falling unto the earth. 
Larger bodies cannot fail in myriads unto a smaller body; and 
most of the planets and all the fixed stars are many times larger 
than our earth; but these fell toward the earth. And how did 
they fall '( Neither myself nor one of the family heard any 
report; and were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could 
not find one so apt, to illustrate the appearance of the heavens, 
as that which St. John uses in the prophecy before quoted : 
' The stars of heaven fell unto the earth. ' They were not 
sheets, or flakes, or drops of fire; but they were what the world 
understands by falling stars; and one speaking to his fellow, 
in the midst of the scene, would say, £ See how the stars fall ! ' 
And he who heard would not stop to correct the astronomy of 
the speaker, any more than he would reply, i The sun does not 
move, ' to one who should tell him, ' The sun is rising. ' The 
stars fell 4 even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she 
is shaken of a mighty wind.' Here is the exactness of the 
prophet. The falling stars did not come as if from several 
trees shaken, but from one. Those which appeared in the east 
fell toward the east; those which appeared in the north fell 
toward the north; those which appeared in the west fell toward 
the west; and those which appeared in the south (for I went 
out of my residence into the park), fell toward the south. And 
they fell not as rijie fruit falls; far from it; but they flew, they 
were cast, like the unripe, which at first refuses to leave the 



424 



THE REVELATION. 



branch, and when, under a violent pressure, it does break its 
hold, it flies swiftly, straight off, descending; and in the mul- 
titude falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown 
with more or less force, but each one falls on its own side of 
the tree." — Henry Dana Ward. 

"Extensive and magnificent showers of shooting stars have 
been known to occur at various places in modern times ; but 
the most universal and wonderful which has ever been re- 
corded, is that of the 13th of November, 1833, the whole fir- 
mament, over all the United States, being then, for hours, in 
fiery commotion. No celestial phenomenon has ever occurred 
in this country, since its first settlement, which was viewed 
with such intense admiration by one class in the community, 
or with so much dread and alarm by another. . . . During 
the three hours of its continuance, the day of Judgment was 
believed to be only waiting for sunrise." — Our First Century, 
p. 329. 

The effect of this phenomenon upon the negro population, 
is described by a Southern planter as follows : — 

"I was suddenly awakened by the most distressing cries 
that ever fell on my ears. Shrieks of horror and cries for 
mercy could be heard from most of the negroes of three planta- 
tions, amounting in all to some six or eight hundred. While 
earnestly and breathlessly listening for the cause, I heard a 
faint voice near the door calling my name. I arose, and ta- 
king my sword, stood at the door. At this moment I heard the 
same voice still beseeching me to rise, and saying, ' O my 
God ! the world is on fire ! ' I then opened the door, and it 
is difficult to say which excited me most, the awfulness of the 
scene or the distressed cries of the negroes. Upward of one 
hundred lay prostrate on the ground, some speechless, and 
others uttering the bitterest moans, but with their hands raised, 
imploring God to save the world and them. The scene was 
truly awful : for never did rain fall much thicker than the 
meteors fell toward the earth; east, west, north, and south, it 
was the same. In a word, the whole heavens seemed in motion." 
— Id, p. 330. 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 12-17. 



425 



' ' Arago computes that not less than two hundred and forty 
thousand meteors ivere at the same time visible above the hori- 
zon of Boston. ' ' And of the display at Niagara it is said that 
' ' no spectacle so terribly grand and sublime was ever before 
beheld by man as that of the firmament descending in fiery 
torrents over the dark and roaring cataract." — Id., ib. 

These signs in the sun, moon, and stars, are the same as 
those so strikingly predicted by our Lord, and recorded by the 
evangelists in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. In these 
records, not only the same signs are given, but the same time 
is pointed out for their fulfilment ; namely, a period com- 
mencing just this side of the long and bloody persecution of 
the papal power. In Matt. 24 : 21, 22, the 1260 years of 
papal supremacy are brought to view ; and ' i immediately after 
the tribulation of those days" (verse 29) the sun was to be 
darkened, etc. Mark is still more definite, and says, " In 
those days, after that tribulation." The days, commencing in 
a. d. 538, ended in 1798; but before they ended, the spirit of 
persecution had been restrained by the Reformation, and that 
tribulation of the church had ceased. And in this period, 
exactly at the time specified in the prophecy, the fulfilment 
of these signs commenced in the darkening of the sun and moon. 

The first instance of the falling of the stars worthy of any 
notice, though others of local and minor importance may be 
mentioned before it, took place in 1799. To the great display 
of 1833, by far the most brilliant of any on record, we have 
already referred. Of the extent of this shower, Professor Olm- 
stead, of Yale College, a distinguished meteorologist, says : — 

" The extent of the shower of 1833 was such as to cover no 
inconsiderable part of the earth's surface; from the middle of 
the Atlantic on the east to the Pacific on the west, and from 
the northern coast of South America to undefined regions 
among the British possessions on the north, the exhibition was 
visible, and everywhere presented nearly the same appearance." 

From this, it appears that this exhibition was confined 
exclusively to the Western world. But in the year 1866, 
another remarkable occurrence of this kind took place, this 



426 



THE REVELATION. 



time in the East, nearly as magnificent in some places as that 
of 1833, and visible so far as ascertained, throughout the 
greater part of Europe. Thus the principal portions of the 
earth have now been warned by this sign. 

Observation has shown that these meteoric displays occur 
at regular intervals of about thirty-three years. The skeptic 
will doubtless seize upon this as a pretext for throwing them 
out of the catalogue of signs. But if they are not more than 
ordinary occurrences, the question is to be answered why they 
have not occurred as regularly and prominently centuries in 
the past as in the last hundred years. This is a question 
science cannot answer, nor can it offer anything more than 
conjecture as to their cause. 

One significant fact will be noticed in connection with all 
the foregoing signs : They were each instinctively associated 
-in the minds of the people, at the time of their occurrence, 
with the great day of which they were the forerunners. And 
on each occasion the cry was raised, ' ' The Judgment has come ; 
the world 's at an end." 

But the objector answers, These phenomena in the sun, 
moon, and stars cannot be signs of the end, because there have 
been many instances of such occurrences; and pointing to some 
ten other periods of remarkable darkness besides that of 1780, 
and to several occasions when stars or meteoric showers have 
fallen, he asks, with an air of triumph, which one we will 
take for the sign. That this is not a fanciful representation of 
the objection, the following facts will demonstrate. 

In 1878 we noticed in one of the leading dailies of Chicago 
a question from a correspondent in Vermont, and the reply 
given by the paper, as follows : — 

' ' Will you give the causes ( and proof ) of the ' dark day ' 
in 1780, the 19th of May, I believe '( An ' Advent preacher ' 
has been preaching in this neighborhood, and alluded to it as a 
sign of the destruction of the world." 

And the reply is given thus : — 

"The dark day of 1780 was produced by entirely natural 
causes, and was about as much a sign of the destruction of 



CHAPTER 6, YERSES 12-17 



427 



the world as of the advent of the potato-beetle. The darkness, 
said Dr. Samuel Tenney, of Exeter, H. , was produced by 
common clouds. Between these common clouds and the earth 
intervened another stratum of great thickness. As the stratum 
advanced, the darkness commenced, and increased with its 
progress. The uncommon thickness of this stratum was oc- 
casioned by two strong currents of wind from the southward 
and westward, condensing the vapors and drawing them in a 
northwest direction. The density of this stratum was owing 
to the vapor and smoke it contained. These so-called dark 
days have not been uncommon, being known in 366 b. c, 295 
b. c. , 252 a. d. , 746, 775, 1732, 1762, 1780, 1783, 1807, 1816. 
The one was as prophetic as any other, and no more so. 7 ' 

It would have been a little more to the satisfaction of any 
one who wishes to know the reasons of his faith, if the writer 
of the reply had stated where he found his evidence for all his 
assertions. And we would like a little light on such points as 
this : From whence came that ' ' stratum of great thickness ' ' ? 
Of what was it composed ? How was it formed \ This cav- 
iler's explanation amounts to just this: It was dark because 
there was great darkness. He simply states the fact in an- 
other form, and calls that an explanation. His own statement 
needs explaining as really as the one to which he refers. "The 
uncommon thickness of the stratum was caused by two strong 
currents of wind," etc. How did those winds chance to come 
just then, and just when there were vapors to condense \ 
And what caused the vapors ? Then how could currents from 
the west and south draw the vapors "in a northwest direc- 
tion ' ' ? Common philosophy would assign them, under such 
circumstances, a northeasterly direction. Our friend must be 
careful, or he will make the dark day to be a greater phenome- 
non than we have ever claimed it to be. 

But, further, we would ask how, according to the reply 
above given, the 'words of our Lord can ever be fulfilled. He 
says that the sun shall ~be darJce?ied ; and he means the literal 
sun, for he speaks of men and things on the earth in contrast 
with it. Luke 21 : 25. And he says that when it is thus 



428 



THE REVELATION. 



darkened, it is a sign of the end ; for when we see these things 
come to pass, he tells us that we are to know that he is near, 
even at the doors. But according to the writer of the fore- 
going, there never can be any sign of this nature. He de- 
clares there never has been in the past ; and suppose such a 
phenomenon should occur again, would it be a sign? — Not in 
his eyes : for the hypothesis of vapors, winds, natural laws, 
and common occurrences, would instantly fly to his scoffing 
lips. But something of this kind is to constitute a sign, for 
the Lord himself has declared it ; and we would like to ask the 
objector how a darkening of the sun should differ from that of 
1780 to answer to the prophecy and constitute it a sign? 

It is also urged that there have been many such events, 
hence it can be no sign; and seven dark days are mentioned 
by our writer before 1780, and three since, for which, however, 
-he forgot to give his authority. But how does it happen that 
nobody has seemed to pay any attention to these days, or 
make any account of them ? and why is it that all fix upon 
May 19, 1780, as the only one worthy of special note, giving 
it, by way of distinction, the title, The Dark Day? 

The answer is obvious. It occupies a pre-eminent position 
in this respect. It towers up far above all others as the one 
most remarkable and noteworthy for its awful phenomena. 

But we are not left to decide the matter from this evidence 
alone; for our Lord has not only told us that such an event 
should occur as a sign of his coming, but he has told us also 
when it should occur. 4 ' Immediately after the tribulation of 
those days," says Matthew. Mark is more definite, and says, 
6 4 In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be dark- 
ened," etc. Mark 13:24. The ' 'days" are the days of 
papal supremacy, the 1260 years, from 538 to 1798; the trib- 
ulation is the oppression of Christians by the Catholic power 
till restrained by the work of the Reformation. The tribula- 
tion may be said to have ceased about the middle of the eight- 
eenth century. The "days" ended within two years of the 
close of that century. Thus, by the fixed terms of the prophecy 
we are shut up to a period of about fifty years in length, and 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 12-17. 



429 



ending in 1798, in which to look for that darkening of the sun 
which was to be a sign of the Lord's soon coming. 

Again, the darkening of the sun was to be the second great 
event to take place under the sixth seal. Rev. 6 : 12. The 
first, and the one which marked the opening of that seal, was 
a great earthquake, shown to be, by comparison with the pre- 
ceding seals, the great earthquake of Lisbon, Nov. 1, 1755. 
Between this point and the end of the papal period in 1798, 
the sun was to be darkened as a sign of the end. Here we 
are shut up to a period of time positively only forty-three 
years in length, in which to look for that darkening of the sun 
which was the subject of the prediction. Now it matters not 
if our opponents should claim seven thousand dark days instead 
of seven, each as notable as the one of 1780, it would not 
affect the prediction or the sign in the least degree. It matters 
not how many nor what kind of dark days there may have 
been in other ages; we look for one which was to take place 
in that brief, specified period, as the predicted sign. 

We fix our eyes upon that time, and what do we behold ? 
We find not only the darkening of the sun, as foretold, but we 
find a dark day so much more notable than ail others that it 
is set forth by way of pre-eminence as u the dark day," while 
in general history all others are passed by in silence. 

Viewed from one point, it is very strange that people can 
overlook considerations of this nature which are so decisive 
upon this question; from another, it is not. What a man 
doesn't want to see, he can very easily keep from seeing. 
But we apprehend the lack both of inclination and ability is 
accounted for by the prophet Daniel, when he says, "The 
wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall under- 
stand." 

Of the dark day, Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, edition 
of 1884, page 1604, says : — 

"Dark Day, The. May 19, 1780; so called on account of 
a remarkable darkness on that day, extending over all New 
England. In some places persons could not see to read com- 
mon print in the open air for several hours together. Birds 



430 



THE REVELATION. 



sang their evening song, disappeared, and became silent; fowls 
went to roost; cattle sought the barn-yard; and candles were 
lighted in the houses. The obscuration began about ten 
o'clock in the morning, and continued till the middle of the 
next night, but with differences of degree and duration in 
different places. For several days previous, the wind had been 
variable, but chiefly from the southwest and the northeast. 
The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known." 

While the learned editor of Webster's Dictionary testifies 
so positively that 4 < the true cause of the phenomenon is not 
known, " it is remarkable how flippantly many smaller minds 
proceed to offer their explanations, and account for it from 
natural causes. Those who lived at the time, and had at least 
as good an opportunity to mark all its strange features and 
unnatural manifestations as people of the present time, were 
- filled with awe at the occurrence, and for years, so long as those 
who saw it, survived, were unable to explain it; but their 
degenerate sons, the wondrously wise generation of the pres- 
ent, living over a hundred years from the time of its occur- 
rence, and having never seen anything of the kind, assume to 
explain it with all the ease and nonchalance with which they 
would tell us that two and two make four. 

As the time when we were to look for the beginning of the 
signs is so definitely located, it is further objected that the 
falling of the stars in 1833 cannot be one of the signs, because, 
according to Mark 13 : 24, 25, they also should have fallen 
within those days, or previous to 1798, as this event is imme- 
diately connected by the word and to the signs in the sun 
and moon. 

We reply by calling attention to the fact that there are 
more events than simply the falling of the stars that are linked 
to the series by the word and. Thus : ' ' And ' ' the stars of 
heaven shall fall, "and " the powers that are in heaven shall 
be shaken, ' ' and ' ' then shall they see the Son of man coming, 
1 ' and ' ' then shall he send his angels to gather the elect. 
Now the language certainly is not designed to convey the idea 
that all these things were to take place within those days; for 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 12-17. 



431 



in that case we should have the coming of Christ itself take 
place before the days ended. Yerse 29, stating the conclusion 
of the argument, says, " So ye in like manner, when ye shall 
see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the 
doors." Matthew puts it in still stronger language when he 
says, £ ' So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, 
know that it [margin, he, Christ] is near, even at the doors. ' ' 
But it would be absurd to say that we must wait till the coming 
of Christ takes place before we can know that that event is 
near, even at the doors. 

These facts, then, plainly appear; namely, that a series of 
associated events is given us, covering quite a period of time, 
beginning at some point in the past, and reaching down to, 
and including the second coming of Christ. The beginning 
of the series is placed at a point before the close of a certain 
prophetic period designated as "those days," that is, the 1260 
years of papal oppression upon the church; but the end of the 
series lies far outside of that period, as already shown. Now, 
the question to be decided is, How many events of the series 
given us are to be looked for before the date by which ' ' those 
days" are limited, that is, before 1798, where the 1260 days, 
or years, terminated ? The only data we have on which to 
frame an answer are the facts already noticed; namely, that 
the events begin within that period, but close outside of it, and 
no specified number is given as belonging to that period. 

The conclusion is therefore inevitable that if the first one of 
the events designated comes to pass within the specified time, 
the prophecy is fulfilled, though all the others lie outside of 
that time. Had the sun alone been darkened before 1798, it 
would have been sufficient to fulfil the prophecy. The moon 
even might have been darkened this side of 1798 without viti- 
ating the prophecy in the least degree. The sun and moon 
were darkened together in 1780, eighteen years before the days 
ended; the stars fell in 1833, thirty-five years after the end of 
the days. We have reached the year 1897, ninety-nine years 
this side the ending of the days, and the shaking of the powers 
of heaven will be completed not far hence, as other prophecies 



432 



THE REVELATION. 



show; and in immediate connection with that, as Joel and John 
plainly declare, the coming of the Lord is to take place. 

If the objector still insists that according to our application 
the stars should have fallen before 1798, because the prophecy 
says, " And the stars of heaven shall fall," we reply that then 
all the other events should also have taken place before 1798; 
for they are all connected in the same way. But this we have 
shown to be impossible. 

And the Heaven Departed as a Scroll. — In this event our 
minds are turned to the future. From looking at the past, and 
beholding the word of God fulfilled, we are now called to look 
at events in the future, which are no less sure to come. Here 
is our position, unmistakably defined. We stand between the 
13th and 14th verses of this chapter. We wait for the heavens 
to depart as a scroll when it is rolled together. And these are 
- times of unparalleled solemnity and importance; for we know 
not how near we may be to the fulfilment of these things. 

This departing of the heavens is included in what the evan- 
gelists call, in the same series of events, the shaking of the 
powers of the heavens. Other scriptures give us further par- 
ticulars concerning this prediction. From Heb. 12 : 25-27, 
Joel 3 : 16, Jer. 25 : 30-33, Kev. 16 : 17, we learn that it is the 
voice of God, as he speaks in terrible majesty from his throne 
in heaven, that causes this fearful commotion in earth and sky. 
Once the Lord spoke, when with an audible voice he declared 
to his creatures the precepts of his eternal law, and the earth 
shook. He is to speak again, and not only the earth will shake, 
but the heavens also. Then will the earth " reel to and fro like 
a drunkard ;" it will be "dissolved" and "utterly broken 
down" (Isaiah 24); mountains. will move from their firm bases; 
islands will suddenly change their location in the midst of the 
sea; from the level plain will arise the precipitous mountain; 
rocks will thrust up their ragged forms from earth's broken sur- 
face ; and while the voice of God is reverberating through the 
earth, the direst confusion will reign over the face of nature. 

To show that this is no mere conception of the imagination, 
the reader is requested to mark the exact phraseology which 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 12-17. 



433 



some of the prophets have used in reference to this time. Isaiah 
(24 : 19, 20) says : "The earth is utterly broken down, the earth 
is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth 
shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like 
a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon 
it; and it shall fall, and not rise again." Jeremiah (4 : 23-27) 
in thrilling language describes the scene as follows : ' ' 1 beheld 
the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and the 
heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, 
lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, 
and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens 
were fled. . . . For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land 
shall be desolate." (See also the scriptures referred to above.) 

Then will the world's dream of carnal security be effectually 
broken. Kings, who, intoxicated with their own earthly author- 
ity, have never dreamed of a higher power than themselves, 
now realize that there is One who reigns King of kings; and 
the great men behold the vanity of all earthly pomp, for there 
is a greatness above that of earth; and the rich men throw their 
silver and gold to the moles and bats, for it cannot save them 
in that day; and the chief captains forget their little brief au- 
thority, and the mighty men their might; and every bondman 
who is in the still worse bondage of sin, and every freeman, — 
all classes of the wicked, from the highest to the lowest, — join 
in the general wail of consternation and despair. They who 
never prayed to Him whose arm could bring salvation, now 
raise an agonizing prayer to rocks and mountains to bury them 
forever from the sight of Him whose presence brings to them 
destruction. Fain would they now avoid reaping what they 
have sown by a life of lust and sin. Fain would they now shun 
the fearful treasure of wrath which they have been heaping up 
for themselves against this day. Fain would they bury them- 
selves and their catalogue of crimes in everlasting darkness. 
And so they fly to the rocks, caves, cavjsrns, and fissures, which 
the broken surface of the earth now presents before them. But 
it is too late. They cannot conceal their guilt, nor escape the 
long-delayed vengeance. 
28 



434 



THE REVELATION. 



" It will be in vain to call, 
Rocks and mountains on us fall ; 
For His hand will find out all, 
In that day." 

The day which they thought never would come, has at last 
taken them as in a snare; and the involuntary language of their 
anguished hearts is, ' ' The great day of his wrath is come, and 
who shall be able to stand? " Before it is called out by the 
fearful scenes of this time, we pray you, reader, give your most 
serious and candid attention to this subject. 

Many now affect to despise the institution of prayer; but 
at one time or another all men will pray. Those who will not 
now pray to God in penitence, will then pray to the rocks and 
mountains in despair; and this will be the largest prayer-meet- 
ing ever held. As you read these lines, think whether you 
- would like to have a part therein. 

Ah ! better far 
To cease the unequal war, 
While pardon, hope, and peace may yet be found; 
Nor longer rush upon the embossed shield 
Of the Almighty, but repentant yield, 
And all your weapons of rebellion ground. 
Better pray now in love, than pray ere long in fear. 
Call ye upon him, while he waits to hear ; 
So in the coming end, 

When down the parted sky 
The angelic hosts attend 

The Lord of heaven, most high, 
Before whose face the solid earth is rent, 
You may behold in him a friend omnipotent. 
And safely rest beneath his sheltering wings, 
Amid the ruin of all earthly things. 



Yeese 1. And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four 
corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind 
should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2. And I 
saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living 
God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was 
given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3. Saying, Hurt not the earth, nei- 
ther the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in 
their foreheads. 

^p#HE chronology of the work here introduced is established 



beyond mistake. The sixth chapter closed with the 



events of the sixth seal, and the seventh seal is not men- 
tioned until we reach the opening of chapter 8. The whole of 
chapter 7 is therefore thrown in here parenthetically. Why is 
it thus thrown in at this point ? — Evidently for the purpose of 
stating additional particulars concerning the sixth seal. The 
expression, "after these things," does not mean after the ful- 
filment of all the events previously described; but after the 
prophet had been carried down in vision to the close of the 
sixth seal, in order not to break the consecutive order of events 
as given in chapter 6, his mind is called to what is mentioned 
in chapter 7, as further particulars to transpire in connection 
with that seal. Then we inquire, Between what events in that 
seal does this work come in ? It must transpire before the 
departing of the heavens as a scroll; for after that event there 
is no place for such a work as this. And it must take place 
subsequently to the signs in the sun, moon, and stars; for 




[435] 



436 



THE REVELATION. 



these signs have been fulfilled, and such a work has not yet 
been accomplished. It comes in, therefore, between the 13th 
and 14th verses of Revelation 6; but there, as already shown, 
is just where we now stand. Hence the first part of Revela- 
tion 7 relates to a work the accomplishment of which may be 
looked for at the present time. 

Four Angels. — Angels are ever-present agents in the affairs 
of the earth; and why may not these be four of those heavenly 
beings into whose hands God has committed the work here 
described; namely, holding the winds while it is God's pur- 
pose that they should not blow, and hurting the earth with 
them when the time comes that they should be loosed I For it 
will be noticed (verse 3) that the "hurting" is a work com- 
mitted to their hands equally with the "holding;" so that 
they do not merely let the winds go when they are to blow, but 
they cause them to blow ; they impel forward the work of 
destruction with their own supernatural energy. But the hurt- 
ing process here brought to view does not include the seven 
last plagues. That work is given into the hands of seven 
special angels; this, into the "hands of four. Or, it may be 
that when the time comes for the pouring out of the plagues, 
the seven angels who have specific charge of these judgments, 
unite with the four whose mission it is to cause the winds to 
blow, and all together bring on that pre-eminent exhibition of 
divine vengeance against a generation which is pre-eminent 
in guilt. 

Four Corners of the Earth. — An expression denoting the 
four quarters, or the four points of the compass, and signifying 
that these angels, in their particular sphere, had charge of the 
whole earth. 

The Four Winds. — Winds, in the Bible, symbolize political 
commotion, strife, and war. Dan. 7:2; Jer. 25 : 32. The 
four winds, held by four angels standing in the four quarters 
of the earth, must denote all the elements of strife and commo- 
tion that exist in the world ; and when they are all loosed, and 
all blow together, it will constitute the great whirlwind just 
referred to in the prophecy of Jeremiah. 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 1-3. 



437 



The Angel Ascending from the East. — Another literal 
angel, having charge of another specific work, is here intro- 
duced. Instead of the words, "ascending from the east,'' 
some translations read, "Ascending from the sun rising," 
which is a more literal translation. The expression evidently 
refers to manner rather than locality; for as the sun arises 
with rays at first oblique and comparatively powerless, but 
increases in strength until it shines in all its meridian power 
and splendor, so the work of this angel commences in weak- 
ness, moves onward with ever-accumulating influence, and 
closes in strength and power. 

Tfie Seal of the Living God. — This is the distinguishing 
characteristic of the ascending angel; he bears with him the 
seal of the living God. From this fact, and the chronology of 
his work, we are to determine, if possible, what movement is 
symbolized by his mission. The nature of his work is evi- 
dently embraced in his having the seal of the living God; and 
to ascertain what his work is, the inquiry must be answered 
what this seal of the living God is, which he bears with him. 

1. The Term Seal Defined. — A seal is defined to be an 
instrument of sealing ; that which ' 4 is used by individuals, cor- 
porate bodies, and states, for making impressions on wax, upon 
instruments of writing, as an evidence of their authenticity r ." 
The original word in this passage is defined, "A seal, i. e., a 
signet ring; a mark, stamp, badge; a token, a pledge." Among 
the significations of the verb are the following: "To secure to 
any one, to make sure; to set a seal or mark upon anything in 
token of its being genuine or approved ; to attest, to confirm, to 
establish, to distinguish by a mark. " By a comparison of Gen. 
17 : 11 with Kom. 4:11, and Eev. 7 : 3 with Eze. 9:4, in con- 
nection with the above definition, the reader will see that the 
words token, sign, seal, and mark are used in the Bible as 
synonymous terms. The seal of God, as brought to view in 
our text, is to be applied to the servants of God. We are not, 
of course, to suppose that in this case it is some literal mark to 
be made in the flesh, but that it is some institution or observ- 
ance having special reference to God, which will serve as a 



438 



THE REVELATION. 



' ' mark of distinction ' ' between the worshipers of God and 
those who are not in truth his servants, though they may pro- 
fess to follow him. 

2. The Use of a Seal. — A seal is used to render valid or 
authentic any enactments, or laws, which a person or power 
may promulgate. Frequent instances of its use occur in the 
Scriptures. In 1 Kings 21 : 8, we read that Jezebel "wrote 
letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal." These 
letters then had all the authority of King Ahab. Again, in 
Esther 3 : 12 : 44 In the name of King Ahasuerus was it written, 
and sealed with the king's ring. 1 ' So also in chapter 8:8: 
" The writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed 
with the king's ring, may no man reverse." 

3. Where a Seal is Used. — Always in connection with some 
- law or enactment that demands obedience, or upon documents 

that are to be made legal, or subject to the provisions of law. 
The idea of law is inseparable from a seal. 

4. As Applied to God. — We are not to suppose that to 
the enactments and laws of God binding upon men, there must 
be attached a literal seal, made with literal instruments; but 
from the definition of the term, and the purpose for which a 
seal is used, as shown above, we must understand a seal to be 
strictly that which gives validity and authenticity to enactments 
and laws. This is found, though a literal seal may not be 
used, in the name or signature of the law-making power, ex- 
pressed in such terms as to show what the power is, and its 
right to make laws and demand obedience. Even with a literal 
seal, the name must always be used. ( See the references above 
given.) An instance of the use of the name alone seems to 
occur in Dan. 6:8: " Now, O king, establish the decree, and 
sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of 
the Medes and Persians, which altereth not; " that is, affix the 
signature of royalty, showing who it is that demands obedience, 
and his right to demand it. 

In a gospel prophecy found in Isaiah 8, we read : u Bind 
up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." This 
must refer to a work of reviving some of the claims of the law 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 1-3. 



439 



in the minds of the disciples, which had been overlooked, or 
perverted from their true meaning. And this, in the prophecy, 
is called sealing the law, or restoring to it its seal, which had 
been taken from it. 

Again, the 144,000, who in the chapter before us are said 
to be sealed with the seal of God in their foreheads, are again 
brought to view in Rev. 14: 1, where they are said to have the 
Father's name written in their foreheads. 

From the foregoing reasoning, facts, and declarations of 
Scripture, two conclusions inevitably follow : — 

1. The seal of God is found in connection with the law 
of God. 

2. The seal of God is that part of his law which contains 
his name, or descriptive title, showing who he is, the extent of 
his dominion, and his right to rule. 

The law of God is admitted by all the leading evangelical 
denominations to be summarily contained in the decalogue, or 
ten commandments. We have, then, but to examine these 
commandments to see which one it is that constitutes the seal 
of the law, or, in other words, makes known the true God, the 
law-making power. The first three commandments mention 
the word God/ but we cannot tell from these who is meant, 
for there are multitudes of objects to which this name is applied. 
There are ' ' gods many and lords many, ' ' as the apostle says. 
1 Cor. 8:5. Passing over the fourth commandment for the 
time being, the fifth contains the words Lord and God, but 
does not define them; and the remaining five precepts do not 
contain the name of God at all. Now what shall be done ? 
With that portion of the law which we have examined, it 
would be impossible to convict the grossest idolater of sin. 
The worshiper of images could say, This idol before me is 
my god; his name is god, and these are his precepts. The 
worshiper of the heavenly bodies could also say, The sun is my 
god, and I worship him according to this law. Thus, without 
the fourth commandment, the decalogue is null and void, so far 
as it pertains to enforcing the worship of the true God. But 
let us now add the fourth commandment, restore to the law this 



440 



THE REVELATION. 



precept, which many are ready to contend has been expunged, 
and see how the case will then stand, As we examine this com- 
mandment, which contains the declaration, "For in six days 
the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them 
is," etc., we see at once that we are reading the requirements 
of Him who created all things. The sun, then, is not the God 
of the decalogue; the true God is he who made the sun. No ob- 
ject in heaven or earth is the being who here demands obedience; 
for the God of this law is the one who made all created things. 
Now we have a weapon against idolatry. Now this law can 
no longer be applied to false gods, who ' ' have not made the 
heavens and the earth." Jer. 10 : 11. Now the author of this 
law has declared who he is, the extent of his dominion, and his 
right to rule; for every created intelligence must at once assent 
that He who is the Creator of all, has a right to demand obedi- 
ence from all his creatures. Thus with the fourth command- 
ment in its place, this wonderful document, the decalogue, the 
only document among men which God ever wrote with his own 
finger, has a signature; it has that which renders it intelligible 
and authentic; it has a seal. But without the fourth command- 
ment, it lacks all these things. 

From the foregoing reasoning, it is evident that the fourth 
commandment constitutes the seal of the law of God, or the 
seal of God. But the Scriptures do not leave us without direct 
testimony on this point. 

We have seen above that in Scripture usage, sign, seal, 
token, and mark are synonymous terms. Now, the Lord ex- 
pressly says that the Sabbath is a sign between him and his 
people. " Yerily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign 
between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may 
hiow that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." Ex. 31: 13. 
The same fact is again stated by the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 
20 : 12, 20. Here the Lord told his people that the very object 
of their keeping the Sabbath, that is, observing the fourth com- 
mandment, was that they might know that he was the true God. 
This is the same as if the Lord had said, "The Sabbath is a 
seal. On my part it is the seal of my authority, the sign that 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 1-3. 



441 



1 have the right to command obedience; on your part it is a 
token that you take me to be your God." 

Should it be said that this principle can have no application 
to Christians at the present time, as the Sabbath was a sign 
between God and the Jews only, it would be sufficient to reply 
that the terms Jew and Israel, in a true Scriptural sense, are 
not confined to the literal seed of Abraham. Abraham was 
chosen at first, because he was the friend of God, while his 
fathers were idolaters; and his seed were chosen to be God's 
people, the guardians of his law and the depositaries of his 
truth, because all others had apostatized from him; and it is 
true that these words respecting the Sabbath were spoken to 
them while they enjoyed the honor of being thus set apart from 
all others. But when the middle wall of partition was broken 
down, and the .Gentiles were called in to be partakers of the 
blessings of Abraham, all God's people, both Jews and Gen- 
tiles, were brought into a new and more intimate relation to 
God through his Son, and they are now called "Jews in- 
wardly," and "Israelites indeed." And now the declaration 
applies to all such; for they have as much occasion to know the 
Lord as had his people of old. 

Thus the fourth commandment, or the Sabbath, is taken by 
the Lord as a sign between him and his people, or the seal of 
his law in both dispensations; the people by that command- 
ment signifying that they are the worshipers of the true God, 
and God, by the same commandment, making himself known 
as their rightful ruler, inasmuch as he is their Creator. 

In harmony with this idea, the significant fact is to be no- 
ticed that whenever the sacred writers wish to point out the 
true God in distinction from false gods of every description, an 
appeal is made to the great facts of creation, upon which the 
fourth commandment is based. ( See 2 Kings 19 : 15; 2 Chron. 

2 : 12; Neh. 9 : 6; Ps. 115 : 4-7, 15; 121 : 2; 124 : 8; 134 : 3; 
146:6; Isa. 37:16; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; Job 9: 8; Isa. 
51 : 13; Jer. 10 : 10-12; Ps. 96 : 5; Jer. 32 : 17; 51 : 15; Acts 
4:24; 14:15; 17; 23, 24, etc.) 

We refer again to the fact that the same company who in 



442 



THE REVELATION. 



Revelation 7 have the seal of the living God in their foreheads, 
are brought to view again in Rev. 14 : 1, having the Father's 
name in their foreheads. This is good proof that the " seal of 
the living God," and the "Father's name," are used synony- 
mously. The chain of evidence on this point is rendered com- 
plete, when it is ascertained that the fourth commandment, 
which has been shown to be the seal of the law, is spoken of 
by the Lord as that which contains his name. The proof of 
this will be seen by referring to Deut. 16:6: "But at the 
place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name 
in, there shalt thou sacrifice the passover, " etc. What was 
there where they sacrificed the passover ? — There was the 
sanctuary, having in its holiest apartment the ark with the ten 
commandments, the fourth of which declared the true God, 
. and contained his name. Wherever this fourth command- 
ment was, there God's name was placed; and this was the 
only object to which the language could be applied. (See 
Deut. 12:5, 11, 21; 14:23, 24, etc.) 

Having now ascertained that the seal of God is his holy 
Sabbath, having his name, we are prepared to proceed with 
the application. By the scenes introduced in the verses before 
us, namely, the four winds apparently about to blow, bringing 
war and trouble upon the land, and this work restrained till 
the servants of God should be sealed, as though a preparatory 
work must be done for them to save them from this trouble, 
we are reminded of the houses of the Israelites marked with 
the blood of the paschal lamb, and spared as the destroying 
angel passed over to slay the first-born of the Egyptians (Exo- 
dus 12); also of the mark made by the man with a writer's 
ink-horn (Ezekiel 9) upon all those who were to be spared by 
the men with the slaughtering weapons who followed after; 
and we conclude that the seal of God, here placed upon his 
servants, is some distinguishing mark, or religious character- 
istic, through which they will be exempted from the judgments 
of God that fall on the wicked around them. 

As we have found the seal of God in the fourth command- 
ment, the inquiry follows, Does the observance of that com- 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 1-3. 



443 



mandment involve any peculiarity in religious practice \ — Yes, 
a very marked and striking one. It is one of the most singular 
facts to be met with in religious history that, in an age of such 
boasted gospel light as the present, when the influence of 
Christianity is so powerful and wide-spread, one of the most 
striking peculiarities in practice which a person can adopt, and 
one of the greatest crosses he can take up, even in the most 
enlightened and Christian lands, is the simple observance of 
the law of God. For the fourth commandment requires the 
observance of the seventh day of each week as the Sabbath of 
the Lord; but almost all Christendom, through the combined 
influences of paganism and the papacy, have been beguiled 
into the keeping of the first day. A person has but to com- 
mence the observance of the day enjoined in the command- 
ment, and a mark of peculiarity is upon him at once. He is 
distinct alike from the professedly religious world and the 
unconverted world. 

We conclude, then, that the angel ascending from the east, 
having the seal of the living God, is a divine messenger in 
charge of a work of reform to be carried on among men in ref- 
erence to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The agents 
of this work on the earth are of course ministers of Christ; for 
to men is given the commission of instructing their fellow men 
in Bible truth; but as there is order in the execution of all the 
divine counsels, it seems not improbable that a literal angel 
may have the .charge and oversight of this work. 

We have already noticed the chronology of this work as 
locating it in our own time. This is further evident from the 
fact that, as the next event after the sealing of these servants 
of God, we behold them before the throne, with palms of 
victory in their hands. The sealing is therefore the last work 
to be accomplished for them prior to their redemption. 

In Revelation 14 we find the same work again brought to 
view under the symbol of an angel flying in the midst of 
heaven with the most terrific warning that ever fell upon the 
ears of men. We shall speak of this more fully when we reach 
that chapter. We refer to it now, as it is the last work to be 



444 



THE REVELATION. 



accomplished for the world before the coming .of Christ, which 
is the next event in order in that prophecy, and hence must 
synchronize with the work here brought to view in Rev. 7 : 
1-3. The angel with the seal of the living God, mentioned 
in chapter 7, is therefore the same as the third angel of chapter 
14. And this view strengthens the foregoing exposition of 
the seal. For while, as the result of the work in chapter 7, a 
certain company are sealed with the seal of the living God, as 
the result of the third message of chapter 14 a company are 
brought out rendering Scriptural obedience to all the " com- 
mandments of God." Terse 12. But, excepting the fourth, 
there is no commandment of the decalogue upon which the 
Christian world theoretically needs reforming; and that this is 
the representative question in this message is evident from the 
fact that the keeping of the commandments, observing, with 
all the other moral precepts, the Lord's Sabbath, is what dis- 
tinguishes the servants of God from those who worship the 
beast and receive his mark, which is, as will be hereafter shown, 
the observance of a counterfeit sabbath. 

Having thus briefly noticed the main points of the subject, 
we now come to the most striking feature of all. In exact 
accordance with the foregoing chronological argument, we find 
this work already in process of fulfilment before our eyes. The 
third angel's message is going forth; the angel ascending from 
the east is on his mission; the reform on the Sabbath question 
has commenced; it is surely, though yet in comparative 'silence, 
working its way through the land; it is destined to agitate 
every country entitled to the light of the gospel; and it will 
result in bringing out a people prepared for the soon coming of 
the Saviour, and sealed for his everlasting kingdom. 

With one more question we leave these verses, upon which 
we have so lengthily dwelt. Have we seen among the nations 
any movements which would indicate that the cry of the as- 
cending angel, "Hurt not," etc., by the blowing of the winds, 
"till we have sealed the servants of our God,'' has in any 
manner been answered ? The time* during which the winds are 
held could not, from the nature of the case, be a time of pro- 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 1-3. 



-445 



found peace. This would not answer to the prophecy. For 
in order to make it manifest that the winds are being held, 
there must be disturbance, agitation, anger, and jealousy 
among the nations, with an occasional outburst of strife, like a 
fitful gust breaking away from the imprisoned and struggling 
tempest; and these outbursts must be suddenly and unexpect- 
edly checked. Then, but not otherwise, would it be eyident 
to him who looked at events in the light of the prophecy, that 
for some good purpose the restraining hand of Omnipotence 
was laid upon the surging elements of strife and war. And 
such has been the aspect of our times for nearly half a century. 
Commencing with the great revolution of 1848, when so many 
European thrones toppled into the dust, what a state of anger 
and political unrest has existed among all the nations of the 
earth ! Kew and unlooked-for complications have suddenly 
sprung up, throwing matters into apparently inextricable con- 
fusion, and threatening immediate and direful war. And now 
and then the conflict has burst forth in fury, and a thousand 
voices have been raised to predict that the great crisis had 
come, that universal war must result, and the termination no 
man could foretell, when suddenly and unaccountably it has 
been extinguished, and all subsided into quiet again. In our 
own land the terrible civil war of 1861 to 1865 is a notable 
instance. By the spring of the latter year, so great had become 
the pressure upon the nation for men and means to continue 
the war that it began seriously to impede the progress of the 
work symbolized by the ascending angel, even threatening to 
arrest it entirely. Those interested in these truths, believing 
that the time had come for the application of the prophecy, 
and that the words of the angel, "Hurt not,'' etc., indicated 
a movement on the part of the church, accordingly raised their 
petitions to the Ruler of nations to restrain the cruel work of 
tumult and war. Days of fasting and prayer were set apart 
for this purpose. The time at which this occurred was a dark 
and gloomy period of the war; and not a few high in political 
life predicted its indefinite continuance, and an appalling in- 
tensity of all its evils. But suddenly a change, came; and not 



446 



THE REVELATION. 



three months had elapsed from the time of which we speak, ere 
the last army of the Southern Confederacy had surrendered, 
and all its soldiers had laid down their arms. So sudden and 
entire was the collapse, and so grateful were all hearts for relief 
from the pressure of the terrible strife, that the nation broke 
forth into a song of jubilee, and these words were conspicuously 
displayed at the national capitol : u This is the LoroVs doing; 
it is marvelous in our eyes." There are those who believe 
there was a definite cause for this sudden cessation of the strife, 
of which, of course, the world is but little aware. The sudden 
conclusion of the Franco-German war of 1870 and the recent 
war between Turkey and Kussia, may be cited as still later 
examples. Perhaps further events of this kind are yet to be 
witnessed to fulfil more completely this feature of the prophecy. 

Verse 4. And I heard the number of them which were sealed : and 
there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes 
of the children of Israel. 5. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve 
thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the 
tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6. Of the tribe of Aser were 
sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve 
thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7. Of 
the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi 
were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve 
thousand. 8. Of the tribe of Zabulon were seajed twelve thousand. Of 
the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Ben- 
jamin were sealed twelve thousand. 

The number sealed is here stated to be one hundred and 
forty-four thousand; and from the fact that twelve thousand 
are sealed from each of the twelve tribes, many suppose that 
this work must have been accomplished as far back at least 
as about the beginning of the Christian era, when these tribes 
were literally in existence. They do not see how it can apply 
to our own time, when every trace of distinction between these 
tribes has been so long and so completely obliterated. We 
refer such persons to the opening language of the Epistle of 
James : ' ' James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. 
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers tempta- 
tions, " etc. Those whom James here addresses are (1) Chris- 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 4-8. 



447 



tians; for they are his brethren; (2) They are not the converts 
to Christianity from the Jews, the twelve tribes of his own day; 
for he addresses them in view of the coming of the Lord. (See 
chapter 5.) He is thus addressing the last generation of Chris- 
tians, the Christians of our own day; and he calls them the 
twelve tribes scattered abroad. How can this be ? Paul ex- 
plains in Kom. 11 : 17-24. In the striking figure of grafting 
which he there introduces, the tame olive tree represents Israel. 
Some of the branches, the natural descendants of Abraham, 
were broken off because of unbelief (in Christ). Through faith 
in Christ the wild olive scions, the Gentiles, are grafted into 
the tame olive stock, and thus the twelve tribes are perpetuated. 
And here we find an explanation of the language of the same 
apostle: " They are not all Israel which are of Israel," and 
"he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, . . . but he is a 
Jew which is one inwardly." Rom. 9 : 6-8; 2 : 28, 29. So 
we find on the gates of the New Jerusalem — which is a New 
Testament or Christian, not a Jewish, city — the names of the 
twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the foundations of 
this city are inscribed the names of the twelve apostles of the 
Lamb, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of 
Israel. Rev. 21 : 12-14. If the twelve tribes belong exclu- 
sively to the former dispensation, the more natural order would 
have been to have their names on the foundations, and those 
of the twelve apostles on the gates ; but no, the names of the 
twelve tribes are on the gates. And as through these gates, so 
inscribed, all the redeemed hosts will go in and out, so, as 
belonging to these twelve tribes, will all the redeemed be 
reckoned, whether on earth they were Jews or Gentiles. Of 
course we look in vain for any marks of distinction between 
the tribes here on earth; and since Christ has appeared in the 
flesh, the preservation of the genealogy of the tribes is not 
necessary. But in heaven, where the names of the church of 
the first-born are being enrolled, we may be sure there is order, 
and that each name is enrolled in its own tribe. Heb. 12 : 23. 

It will be observed that the enumeration of the tribes here 
differs from that given in other places. The twelve sons of 



448 



THE REVELATION. 



Jacob, who became the heads of great families, called tribes, 
were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Ben- 
jamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, and Joseph. But Jacob, on 
his dying bed, adopted the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Ma- 
nasseh, to constitute two of the tribes of Israel. Gen. 48 : 5. 
This divided the tribe of Joseph, making thirteen tribes in all. 
Yet in the distribution of the land of Canaan by lot, they 
numbered but twelve tribes, and made but twelve lots; for the 
tribe of Levi was left out, being appointed to the service of the 
tabernacle, and having no inheritance, But in the passage 
before us, Ephraim and Dan are omitted, and Levi and Joseph 
put in their places. The omission of Dan is accounted for by 
commentators on the ground that that tribe was the one chiefly 
addicted to idolatry. (See Judges 18, etc.) The tribe of Levi 
here takes its place with the rest, as in the heavenly Canaan 
the reasons for their not having an inheritance will not exist, 
as in the earthly; and Joseph is probably put for Ephraim, it 
being a name which appears to have been applied to either the 
tribe of Ephraim or Manasseh. Num. 13 : 11. 

Twelve thousand were sealed " out of " each of the twelve 
tribes, showing that not all who in the records of heaven had a 
place among these tribes when this sealing work commenced, 
stood the test, and were overcomers at last; for the names of 
those already in the book of life will be blotted out, unless they 
overcome. Rev. 3:5. 

Verse 9. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no 
man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, 
stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, 
and palms in their hands; 10. And cried with a loud voice, saying. 
Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 
11. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the 
elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and 
worshiped God, 12. Saying, Amen : Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and 
thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever 
and ever. Amen. 

The sealing having been accomplished, John beholds a 
countless multitude worshiping God in rapture before his 
throne. This vast throng are undoubtedly the saved out of 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 9-17. 



449 



every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue, raised from the dead 
at the second coming of Christ, showing that the sealing is 
the last work accomplished for the people of God prior to 
translation. 

Verse 13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What 
are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14. 
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are 
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, 
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15. Therefore are they 
before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; 
and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16. They 
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun 
light on them, nor any heat. 17. For the Lamb which is in the midst of 
the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of 
waters : and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 

The questions proposed by one of the elders to John, "What 
are these which are arrayed in white robes % and whence came 
they?" taken in connection with John's answer, "Sir, thou 
knowest, ' ' implying that John did not know, would seem to be 
devoid of all point, if they had reference to the whole of the 
great multitude now before him. For John did know who 
they were, and from whence they came; inasmuch as he had 
just said that they were people — redeemed of course — out of all 
nations, kindreds, people, and tongues; and John could have 
answered, These are the redeemed ones from all the nations of 
the earth. But if a special company in this vast throng were 
referred to, distinguished by some special mark or position, 
then it might not be so evident who they were, and what had 
given them their peculiarity; and the questions, as applied to 
them, would be appropriate and pertinent. We therefore in- 
cline to the view that attention is called to a special company 
by the questions which were proposed by one of the elders; 
and no company is brought to view to which special allusion 
would more naturally be made than to the company spoken of 
in the first part of the chapter; namely, the 144,000. John 
had indeed seen this company in their mortal state, as they 
were receiving the seal of the living God amid the troublous 
scenes of the last days; but as they here stand among the 
redeemed throng, the transition is so great, and the condition 
29 



450 



THE REVELATION. 



in which they now appear so different, that he does not 
recognize them as the special company which he saw sealed 
upon the earth. And to this company, the specifications that 
follow seem to be specially applicable. 

1. They Came out of Great Tribulation. — While it is true 
in some degree of all Christians that they must ' ' through much 
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God," it is true in a very 
emphatic sense of the 144,000. They pass through the great 
time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. 
Dan. 12:1. They experience the mental anguish of the time 
of Jacob's trouble. Jer. 30 : 4-7. They stand without a me- 
diator through the terrific scenes of the seven last plagues, those 
exhibitions of God's unmingled wrath in the earth. Revela- 
tion, chapters 15, 16. They pass through the severest time of 
trouble the world has ever known, although they are delivered 
out of it. 

2. White Robes. — They wash their robes and make them 
white in the blood of the Lamb. To the last generation the 
testimony is very emphatic on the subject of obtaining the 
white raiment. Rev. 3:5, 18. And though the 144,000 are 
accused of rejecting Christ, and trusting to their own works 
for salvation, because they refuse to violate the commandments 
of God (Rev. 14 : 1, 12), in the great day that calumny will be 
wiped off. It will be seen that they have rested their hope of 
life on the merits of the shed blood of their divine Redeemer, 
making him their source of righteousness. There is peculiar 
force in saying of these that they have washed their robes, and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 

3. The First-fruits. — Verse 15 describes the post of honor 
they occupy in the kingdom, and their nearness to God. In 
another place they are called ' ' the first-fruits unto God and the 
Lamb." Rev. 14:4. 

4. They Shall Hunger JVo More. — In verse 16 it is said, 
" They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more." This 
shows that they have once suffered hunger and thirst. To what 
can this refer ? As it doubtless has reference to some special 
experience^ may it not refer to their trials in the time of trouble, 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 9-17. 



451 



more especially during the last plagues ? In this time the right- 
eous will be reduced to bread and water ; and though that 1 ' will 
be sure" (Isa. 33 : 16), enough for sustenance, yet may it not 
be that when the pastures, with all fruits and vegetation, are 
dried up (Joel 1 : 18-20), and the rivers and fountains are 
turned to blood (Rev. 16 : 4—9), to reduce their connection with 
earth and earthly things to the lowest limit, the saints who pass 
through that time will be brought occasionally to the extreme 
degrees of hunger and thirst \ But the kingdom once gained, 
''they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more." And 
the prophet continues, in reference to this company, " Neither 
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat." We remember 
that the 144,000 live through the time when power is given 
unto the sun "to scorch men with fire." Rev. 16 : 8, 9. And 
though they are shielded from the deadly effect which it has 
upon the wicked around them, we cannot suppose that their 
sensibilities will be so deadened that they will feel no unpleas- 
ant sensations from the terrific heat. No; as they enter the 
fields of the heavenly Canaan, they will be prepared to appre- 
ciate the divine assurance that the sun shall not light upon or 
injure them, nor any heat. 

5. And the Lamb Shall Lead Them. — Another testimony 
concerning the same company, and applying at the same time, 
says, "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever 
he goeth. " Rev. 14:4. Both expressions denote the state 
of intimate and divine companionship to which the blessed 
Redeemer admits them in reference to himself. 

The psalmist, in the following beautiful passage, seems to 
allude to the same promise : ' ' They shall be abundantly satis- 
fied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them 
drink of the river of thy pleasures." Ps. 36 : 8. The phrase- 
ology of this promise to the 144,000 is also partially found in 
the following glowing prophecy from the pen of Isaiah : ' < He 
will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe 
away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people 
shall be taken away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath 
spoken it," Isa. 25 : 8, 



0 0CO00000O000000QOOO0 0 , 





name 



as the subject of this chapter the seven 
as these constitute the main theme of the 



trumpet; 

chapter, although there are other matters introduced 
before the opening of that series of events. The first verse of 
this chapter relates to the events of the preceding chapters, and 
therefore should not have been separated from them by the 
division of the chapter. 

Verse 1. And when he had opened the' seventh seal, there was silence 
in heaven about the space of half an hour. 

The series of seven seals is here resumed and concluded. 
The sixth chapter closed with the events of the sixth seal, the 
eighth commences with the opening of the seventh seal ; hence 
the seventh chapter stands parenthetically between the sixth 
and seventh seals, from which it appears that the sealing work 
of that chapter belongs to the sixth seal. 

Silence in Heaven. — Concerning the cause of this silence, 
only conjecture can be offered, — a conjecture, however, which 
is supported by the events of the sixth seal. That seal does 
not bring us to the second advent, although it embraces events 
that transpire in close connection therewith. It introduces the 
fearful commotions of the elements, described as the rolling of 
the heavens together as a scroll, caused by the voice of God, 
the breaking up of the surface of the earth, and the confession 
on the part of the wicked that the great day of God's wrath is 
[452] 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 1-5. 



453 



come. They are doubtless in momentary expectation of seeing 
the King appear in, to them, unendurable glory. But the seal 
stops just short of that event. The personal appearing of Christ 
must therefore be allotted to the next seal. But when the 
Lord appears, he comes with all the holy angels with him. 
Matt. 25 : 31. And when all the heavenly harpers leave the 
courts above to come down with their divine Lord, as he de- 
scends to gather the fruit of his redeeming work, will there 
not be silence in heaven % 

The length of this period of silence, if we consider it pro- 
phetic time, would be about seven days. 

Verse 2. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God ; and 
to them were given seven trumpets. 

This verse introduces a new and distinct series of events. 
In the seals we have had the history of the church during what 
is called the gospel dispensation. In the seven trumpets, now 
introduced, we have the principal political and warlike events 
which were to transpire during the same time. 

Verse 3. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a 
golden censer ; and there was given unto him much incense, that he 
should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which 
was before the throne. 4. And the smoke of the incense, which came 
with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's 
hand. 5. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the 
altar, and cast it into the earth ; and there were voices, and thunderings : 
and lightnings, and an earthquake. 

Having as it were, in verse 2, brought out the seven angels, 
and introduced them before us upon the stage of action, John, 
for a moment, in the three verses last quoted, directs attention 
to an entirely different scene. The angel which approaches 
the altar is not one of the seven trumpet angels. The altar is 
the altar of incense, which, in the earthly sanctuary, was placed 
in the first apartment. Here, then, is another proof that there 
exists in heaven a sanctuary with its corresponding vessels of 
service, of which the earthly was a figure, and that we are 
taken into that sanctuary by the visions of John. A work of 
ministration for all the saints in the sanctuary above is thus 



454 



THE REVELATION. 



brought to view. Doubtless the entire work of mediation for 
the people of God during the gospel dispensation is here pre- 
sented. This is apparent from the fact that the angel offers 
his incense w T ith the prayers of all saints. And that we are 
here carried forward to the end, is evident from the act of the 
angel in filling the censer with fire and casting it unto the 
earth ; for his work is then done ; no more prayers are to be 
offered up mingled with incense ; and this symbolic act can 
have its application only at the time when the ministration of 
Christ in the sanctuary in behalf of mankind has forever ceased. 
And following the angel's act are voices, thunderings, light- 
nings, and an earthquake, — exactly such occurrences as we 
are elsewhere informed transpire at the close of human proba- 
tion. ( See Kev.' 11 : 19 ; 16 : 17, 18.) 

But why are these verses thus thrown in here ? — Answer : 
As a message of hope and comfort for the church. The seven 
angels with their warlike trumpets had been introduced ; terri- 
ble scenes were to transpire under their sounding; but before 
they commence, the people of God are pointed to the work of 
mediation in their behalf above, and their source of help and 
strength during this time. Though they should be tossed like 
feathers upon the tumultuous waves of strife and war, they 
were to know that their great High Priest still ministered for 
them in the sanctuary in heaven, and that thither they could 
direct their prayers, and have them offered, with incense, to 
their Father in heaven. Thus could they gain strength and 
support in all their calamities. 

Terse 6. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets pre- 
pared themselves to sound. 

The subject of the seven trumpets is here resumed, and oc- 
cupies the remainder of this chapter and all of chapter 9. The 
seven angels prepare themselves to sound. Their sounding 
comes in as a complement to the prophecy of Daniel 2 and 7, 
commencing with the breaking up of the old Roman empire 
into its ten divisions, of which, in the first four trumpets, we 
have a description. 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 6, 7. 



455 



Verse ?. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire 
mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth : and the third 
part of trees was burnt up. and all green grass was burnt up. 

A full exposition of the seven trumpets is given in a work 
entitled, An Exposition of the Seven Trumpets of Revelation 
VIII and IX, published at the Review and Herald Office, Bat- 
tle Creek, Mich., to which the reader is referred for a more 
extended examination of the subject. To that work we are 
chiefly indebted for the extracts given below. 

Mr. Keith has very justly remarked on the subject of this 
prophecy : — 

' ' Xone could elucidate the texts more clearly, or expound 
them more fully, than the task has been performed by Gibbon. 
The chapters of the skeptical philosopher that treat directly of 
the matter, need but a text to be prefixed, and a few unholy 
words to be blotted out, to form a series of expository lectures 
on the eighth and ninth chapters of Revelation/' ''Little or 
nothing is left for the professed interpreter to do but to point 
to the pages of Gibbon." 

The first sore and heavy judgment which fell on Western 
Rome in its downward course, was the war with the Goths 
under Alaric, who opened the way for later inroads. After 
the death of Theodosius, the Roman emperor, in January, 395, 
before the end of the winter, the Goths under Alaric were in 
arms against the empire. 

£ ' Hail and fire, mingled with blood, * ' were cast upon the 
earth. The terrible effects of this Gothic invasion are repre- 
sented as "hail," from the fact of the northern origin of the 
invaders; "fire,*' from the destruction by flame of both city 
and country; and "blood,"' from the terrible slaughter of the 
citizens of the empire by the bold and intrepid warriors. 

The blast of the first trumpet has its location about the 
close of the fourth century and onward, and refers to these 
desolating invasions of the Roman empire by the Goths. 

I know not how the history of the sounding of the first 
trumpet can be more impressively set forth than by presenting 
the graphic rehearsal of the facts which are stated in Gibbon's 



456 



THE REVELATION. 



History, by Mr. Keith, in his Signs of the Times, Yol. I, 
pp. 221-233: — 

' ' Large extracts show how amply and well Gibbon has 
expounded his text in the history of the first trumpet, the first 
storm that pervaded the Eoman earth, and the first fall of 
Rome. To use his words in more direct comment, we read 
thus the sum of the matter : The Gothic nation was in arms 
at the first sound of the trumpet, and in the uncommon severity 
of the winter, they rolled their ponderous wagons over the 
broad and icy back of the river. The fertile fields of Phocis 
and Bceotia were crowded with a deluge of barbarians ; the males 
were massacred ; the females and cattle of the flaming villages 
were driven away. The deep and bloody traces of the march of 
the Goths could easily be discovered after several years. The 
whole territory of Attica was blasted by the baneful presence 
of Alaric. The most fortunate of the inhabitants of Corinth, 
Argos, and Sparta, were saved by death from beholding the 
conflagration of their cities. In a season of such extreme heat 
that the beds of the rivers were dry, Alaric invaded the domin- 
ion of the West. A secluded ' old man of Verona, ' the poet 
CJaudian, pathetically lamented the fate of his contemporary 
trees, which must blaze in the conflagration of the whole country 
[note the words of the prophecy, — ' The third part of trees was 
burned up '] ; and the emperor of the Romans fled before the 
king of the Goths. 

u A furious tempest was excited among the nations of Ger- 
many, from the northern extremity of which the barbarians 
marched almost to the gates of Rome. They achieved the 
destruction of the West. The dark cloud which was collected 
along the coasts of the Baltic, burst in thunder upon the banks 
of the upper Danube. The pastures of Gaul, in which flocks 
and herds grazed, and the banks of the Rhine, which were 
covered with elegant houses and well-cultivated farms, formed 
a scene of peace and plenty, which was suddenly changed into 
a desert, distinguished from the solitude of nature only by smok- 
ing ruins. Many cities were cruelly oppressed, or destroyed. 
Many thousands were inhumanly massacred; and the consum- 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 8, 9. 



457 



ing flames of war spread over the greater part of the seventeen 
provinces of Gaul. 

"Alaric again stretched his ravages over Italy. During 
four years the Goths ravaged and reigned over it without 
control. And, in the pillage and fire of Rome, the streets of 
the city were filled with dead bodies; the flames consumed 
many public and private buildings; and the ruins of a palace 
remained (after a century and a half) a stately monument of 
the Gothic conflagration. 

< ' The concluding sentence of the thirty-third chapter of 
Gibbon's History is of itself a clear and comprehensive com- 
mentary; for in winding up his own description of this brief 
but most eventful period, he concentrates, as in a parallel 
reading, the sum of the history and the substance of the pre- 
diction. But the words which precede it are not without their 
meaning : ' The public devotion of the age was impatient to 
exalt the saints and martyrs of the Catholic Church on the 
altars of Diana and Hercules. The union of the Roman em- 
pire was dissolved; its genius was humbled in the dust; and 
armies of unknown barbarians, issuing from the frozen regions 
of the North, had established their victorious reign over the 
fairest provinces of Europe and Africa.' 

"The last word, Africa, is the signal for the sounding of 
the second trumpet. The scene changes from the shores of the 
Baltic to the southern coast of the Mediterranean, or from the 
frozen regions of the North to the borders of burning Africa; 
and instead of a storm of hail being cast upon the earth, a 
burning mountain was cast into the sea." 

Verse 8. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great 
mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea : and the third part 
of the sea became blood ; 9. And the third part of the creatures which 
were in the sea, and had life, died ; and the third part of the ships were 
destroyed. 

The Roman empire, after Constantine, was divided into 
three parts; and hence the frequent remark, "a third part of 
men," etc., in allusion to the third part of the empire which 
was under the scourge. This division of the Roman kingdom 



458 



THE REVELATION. 



was made at the death of Constantine, between his three sons, 
Constantius, Constantine II, and Constans. Constantius pos- 
sessed the East, and fixed his residence at Constantinople, the 
metropolis of the empire. Constantine the Second held Britain, 
Gaul, and Spain. Constans held lllyricum, Africa, and Italy. 
( See Sabine's Ecclesiastical History, p. 155.) Of this well- 
known historical fact, Elliott, as quoted by Albert Barnes, in 
his notes on Rev. 12:4, says: "Twice, at least, before the 
Roman empire became divided permanently into the two parts, 
the Eastern and the Western, there was a tripartite division of 
the empire. The first occurred a. d. 311, when it was divided 
between Constantine, Licinius, and Maximin; the other, A', d. 
337, on the death of Constantine, when it was divided between 
his three sons, Constantine, Constans, and Constantius." 

The history illustrative of the sounding of the second 
trumpet evidently relates to the invasion and conquest of 
Africa, and afterward of Italy, by the terrible Genseric. His 
conquests were, for the most part, naval; and his triumphs 
were c 6 as it were a great mountain burning with fire, cast into 
the sea." What figure would better, or even so well, illustrate 
the collision of navies, and the general havoc of war on the 
maritime coasts % In explaining this trumpet, we are to look 
for some events which will have a particular bearing on the 
commercial world. The symbol used naturally leads us to look 
for agitation and commotion. Nothing but a fierce maritime 
warfare would fulfil the prediction. If the sounding of the 
first four trumpets relates to four remarkable events which 
contributed to the downfall of the Roman empire, and the first 
trumpet refers to the ravages of the Goths under Alaric, in 
this we naturally look for the next succeeding act of invasion 
which shook the Roman power and conduced to its fall. The 
next great invasion was that of " the terrible Genseric," at the 
head of the Yandals. His career occurred during the years 
a. d. 428-468. This great Yandal chief had his headquarters 
in Africa. But, as Gibbon states, "The discovery and conquest 
of the black nations [in Africa], that might dwell beneath the 
torrid zone, could not tempt the rational ambition of Genseric; 




THE VANDALS INVADING AFRICA. 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 8, 9. 



459 



but he cast his eyes toward the sea ; he resolved to create a 
na/val power, and his bold resolution was executed with steady 
and active perseverance." From the port of Carthage he re- 
peatedly made piratical sallies, and preyed on the Roman com- 
merce, and waged war with that empire. To cope with this 
sea monarch, the Roman emperor, Majorian, made extensive 
naval preparations. Three hundred long galleys, with an ade- 
quate proportion of transports and smaller vessels, were col- 
lected in the secure and capacious harbor of Cartagena, in 
Spain. But Genseric was saved from impending and inevit- 
able ruin by the treachery of some powerful subjects, envious 
or apprehensive of their master's success. Guided by their 
secret intelligence, he surprised the unguarded fleet in the 
bay of Cartagena; many of the ships were sunk, taken, or 
burned, and the preparations of three years were destroyed 
in a single day. 

Italy continued to be long afflicted by the incessant depre- 
dations of the Vandal pirates. In the spring of each year they 
equipped a formidable navy in the port of Carthage, and Gen- 
seric himself, though at a very advanced age, still commanded 
in person the most important expeditions. 

The Vandals repeatedly visited the coasts of Spain, Liguria, 
Tuscany, Campania, Lucania, Bruttium, Apulia, Calabria, 
Venetia, Dalmatia, Epirus, Greece, and Sicily. 

The celerity of their motion enabled them, almost at the 
same time, to threaten and to attack the most distant objects 
which attracted their desires; and as they always embarked a 
sufficient number of horses, they had no sooner landed than 
they swept the dismayed country with a body of light cavalry. 

A last and desperate attempt to dispossess Genseric of the 
sovereignty of the seas, was made in the year 468 by Leo, 
the emperor of the East. Gibbon bears witness to this as 
follows : — 

£ 4 The whole expense of the African campaign amounted to 
the sum of one hundred and thirty thousand pounds of gold, — 
about five million two hundred thousand pounds sterling. . . . 
The fleet that sailed from Constantinople to Carthage consisted 



460 



THE REVELATION. 



of eleven hundred and thirteen ships, and the number of soldiers 
and mariners exceeded one hundred thousand men. . . . The 
army of Heraclius and the fleet of Marcellinus either joined or 
seconded the imperial lieutenant. . . . The wind became favor- 
able to the designs of Genseric. He manned his largest ships 
of war with the bravest of the Moors and Vandals, and they 
towed after them many large barks filled with combustible 
materials. In the obscurity of the night, these destructive 
vessels were impelled against the unguarded and unsuspecting 
fleet of the Romans, who were awakened by a sense of their 
instant danger. Their close and crowded order assisted the 
progress of the fire, which was communicated with rapid and 
irresistible violence; and the noise of the wind, the crackling 
of the flames, the dissonant cries of the soldiers and mariners, 
.who could neither command nor obey, increased the horror of 
the nocturnal tumult. While they labored to extricate them- 
selves from the fire-ships, and to save at least a part of the 
navy, the galleys of Genseric assaulted them with temperate 
and disciplined valor; and many of the Romans who escaped 
the fury of the flames, were destroyed or taken by the victorious 
Yandals. . . . After the failure of this great expedition, Gen- 
seric again became the tyrant of the sea; the coasts of Italy, 
Greece, and Asia were again exposed to his revenge and 
avarice; Tripoli and Sardinia returned to his obedience; he 
added Sicily to the number of his provinces; and before he 
died, in the fulness of years and of glory, he beheld the final 
extinction of the empire of the West." — Gibbon, Vol. Ill, 
pp. 1^95-^98. 

Concerning the important part which this bold corsair acted 
in the downfall of Rome, Mr. Gibbon uses this significant lan- 
guage : "Genseric, a name which, in the destruction of the 
Roman empire, has deserved an equal rank with the names of 
Alaric and Attila." 

Verse 10. And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star 
from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part 
of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters. 11. And the name of 
the star is called Wormwood : and the third part of the waters became 
wormwood ; and many men died of the waters, because they were made 
bitter. 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 10, 11. 



461 



In the interpretation and application of this passage, we are 
brought to the third important event which resulted in the 
subversion of the Roman empire. And in finding an historical 
fulfilment of this third trumpet, we shall be indebted to the 
Notes of Dr. Albert Barnes for a few extracts. In explaining 
this scripture, it is necessary, as this commentator says, — 

"That there should be some chieftain or warrior who 
might be compared to a blazing meteor; whose course would 
be singularly brilliant; who would appear suddenly like a 
blazing star, and then disappear like a star whose light was 
quenched in the waters. That the desolating course of this 
meteor would be mainly on those portions of the world which 
abounded with springs of water and running streams. That 
an effect would be produced as if those streams and fountains 
were made bitter; that is, that many persons would perish, and 
that wide desolations would be caused in the vicinity of those 
rivers and streams, as if a bitter and baleful star should fall 
into the waters, and death should spread over lands adjacent 
to them, and watered by them." — JTotes on Revelation 8. 

It is here premised that this trumpet has allusion to the 
desolating wars and furious invasions of Attila against the 
Roman power, which he carried on at the head of his hordes of 
Huns. Speaking of this warrior, particularly of his personal 
appearance, Mr. Barnes says : — 

' ' In the manner of his appearance, he strongly resembled 
a brilliant meteor flashing in the sky. He came from the East 
gathering his Huns, and poured them down, as we shall see, 
with the rapidity of a flashing meteor, suddenly on the empire. 
He regarded himself also as devoted to Mars, the god of war, 
and was accustomed to array himself in a peculiarly brilliant 
manner, so that his appearance, in the language of his flat- 
terers, was such as to dazzle the eyes of beholders." 

In speaking of the locality of the events predicted by this 
trumpet, Mr. Barnes has this note: — 

"It is said particularly that the effect would be on 'the 
rivers ' and on ' the fountains of waters. ' If this has a literal 
application, or if, as was supposed in the case of the second 
trumpet, the language used was such as had reference to the 



462 



THE REVELATION. 



portion of the empire that would be particularly affected by the 
hostile invasion, then we may suppose that this refers to those 
portions of the empire that abounded in rivers and streams, 
and more particularly those in which the rivers and streams 
had their origin; for the effect was permanently in the foun- 
tains of waters. ' As a matter of fact, the principal operations 
of Attila were on the regions of the Alps, and on the portions 
of the empire whence the rivers flow down into Italy. The 
invasion of Attila is described by Mr. Gibbon in this general 
language : c The whole breadth of Europe, as it extends above 
five hundred miles from the Euxine to the Adriatic, was at 
once invaded, and occupied, and desolated, by the myriads of 
barbarians whom Attila led into the field. ' ' ' 

4 ' And the Name of the Star is called Wormwood [denoting 
- the bitter consequences]." These words — which are more in- 
timately connected with the preceding verse, as even the punc- 
tuation in our version denotes — recall us for a moment to the 
character of Attila, to the misery of which he was the author 
or the instrument, and to the terror that was inspired by his 
name. 

' ' ' Total extirpation and erasure, ' are terms which best de- 
note the calamities he inflicted.' 1 He styled himself, "The 
Scourge of God." 

" One of his lieutenants chastised and almost exterminated 
the Burgundians of the Rhine. They traversed, both in their 
march and in their return, the territories of the Franks; and 
they massacred their hostages as well as their captives. Two 
hundred young maidens were tortured with exquisite and un- 
relenting rage; their bodies were torn asunder by wild horses, 
or were crushed under the weight of rolling wagons; and their 
unburied limbs were abandoned on public roads, as a prey to 
. dogs and vultures. 

< ' It was the boast of Attila that the grass never grew on 
the spot which his horse had trod. The Western emperor with 
the senate and people of Rome, humbly and fearfully depre- 
cated the wrath of Attila. And the concluding paragraph of 
the chapters which record his history, is entitled, ' Symptoms 



CHAPTER 8, VERSE 12. 



463 



of the Decay and Ruin of the Roman Government. ' ' The 
name of the star is called Wormwood.' " — Keith. 

Terse 12. And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the 
sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of 
the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone 
not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. 

We understand that this trumpet symbolizes the career of 
Odoacer, the barbarian monarch who was so intimately con- 
nected with the downfall of Western Rome. The symbols, sun, 
moon, and stars — for they are undoubtedly here used as sym- 
bols — evidently denote the great luminaries of the Roman 
government, — its emperors, senators, and consuls. Bishop 
Newton remarks that the last emperor of Western Rome was 
Momyllus, who in derision was called Augicstulus, or the 
"diminutive Augustus." Western Rome fell a. d. 476. 
Still, however, though the Roman sun was extinguished, its 
subordinate luminaries shone faintly while the senate and con- 
suls continued. But after many civil reverses and changes of 
political fortune, at length, a. d. 566, the whole form of the 
ancient government was subverted, and Rome itself was re- 
duced from being the empress of the world to a poor dukedom 
tributary to the Exarch of Ravenna. 

Under the heading, ' ' Extinction of the Western Empire, 
a. d. 476 or a. d. 479,"' Elder J. Litch (Prophetic Exposition, 
Yol. II, pp. 156-160) quotes from Mr. Keith as follows : — 

"The unfortunate Augustulus was made the instrument of 
his own disgrace; and he signified his resignation to the senate; 
and that assembly, in their last act of obedience to a Roman 
prince, still affected the spirit of freedom and the forms of the 
constitution. An epistle was addressed, by their unanimous 
decree, to the emperor, Zeno, the son-in-law and successor of 
Leo, who had lately been restored, after a short rebellion, to 
the Byzantine throne. They solemnly ' disclaim the necessity 
or even the wish of continuing any longer the imperial suc- 
cession in Italy; since in their opinion the majesty of a sole 
monarch is sufficient to pervade and to protect, at the same time, 
both the East and the West, In their own name, and in the 



464 



THE REVELATION. 



name of the people, they consent that the seat of universal 
empire shall be transferred from Rome to Constantinople; and 
they basely renounce the right of choosing their master, the 
only vestige which yet remained of the authority which had 
given laws to the world.' 

' 1 The power and glory of Rome as bearing rule over any 
nation, became extinct. The name alone remained to the queen 
of nations. Every token of royalty disappeared from the im- 
perial city. She who had ruled over the nations sat in the 
dust, like a second Babylon, and there was no throne where 
the Caesars had reigned. The last act of obedience to a Roman 
prince which that once august assembly performed, was the 
acceptance of the resignation of the last emperor of the West, 
and the abolition of the imperial succession in Italy. The sun 
. of Rome was smitten. . . . 

' ' A new conqueror of Italy, Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, 
speedily arose, who unscrupulously assumed the purple, and 
reigned by right of conquest. < The royalty of Theodoric was 
proclaimed by the Goths (March 5, a. d. 493), with the tardy, 
reluctant, ambiguous consent of the emperor of the East.' 
The imperial Roman power, of which either Rome or Constan- 
tinople had been jointly or singly the seat, whether in the West 
or the East, was no longer recognized in Italy, and the third 
part of the sun was smitten, till it emitted no longer the faint- 
est rays. The power of the Caesars was unknown in Italy; 
and a Gothic king reigned over Rome. 

< ' But though the third part of the sun was smitten, and the 
Roman imperial power was at an end in the city of the Caesars, 
yet the moon and the stars still shone, or glimmered, for a little 
longer in the Western empire, even in the midst of Gothic dark- 
ness. The consulship and the senate [ u the moon and the stars "] 
were not abolished by Theodoric. ' A Gothic historian applauds 
the consulship of Theodoric as the hight of all temporal power 
and greatness; ' — as the moon reigns by night, after the setting 
of the sun. And instead of abolishing that office, Theodoric 
himself 1 congratulates those annual favorites of fortune, who, 
without the cares, enjoyed the splendor of the throne. ' 



CHAPTER 8, VERSE 12. 



465 



' ' But, in their prophetic order, the consulship and the senate 
of Rome met their fate, though they fell not by the hands of 
Yandals or of Goths. The next revolution in' Italy was in 
subjection to Belisarius, the general of Justinian, emperor of 
the East. He did not spare what barbarians had hallowed. 
'The Roman Consulship Extinguished by Justinian, a. d. 541,' 
is the title of the last paragraph of the fortieth chapter of 
Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of Rome. 'The 
succession of the consuls finally ceased in the thirteenth year of 
Justinian, whose despotic temper might be gratified by the 
silent extinction of a title which admonished the Romans of 
their ancient freedom. ' The third part of the sun was smitten, 
and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars. 
In the political firmament of the ancient world, while under 
the reign of imperial Rome, the emperorship, the consulate, and 
the senate shone like the sun, the moon, and the stars. The 
history of their decline and fall is brought down till the two 
former were 4 extinguished,' in reference to Rome and Italy, 
which so long had ranked as the first of cities and of countries ; 
and finally, as the fourth trumpet closes, we see the ' extinction 
of that illustrious assembly, ' -the Roman senate. The city that 
had ruled the world, as if in mockery of human greatness, was 
conquered by the eunuch Narses, the successor of Belisarius. 
He defeated the Goths (a. d. 552), achieved 'the conquest of 
Rome,' and the fate of the senate was sealed." 

Elliott (Horae Apocalypticse, Vol. I, pp. 357-360) speaks of 
the fulfilment of this portion of the prophecy in the extinction 
of the Western empire, as follows : — 

' ' Thus was the final catastrophe preparing, by which the 
Western emperors and empire were to become extinct. The 
glory of Rome had long departed ; its provinces one after 
another been rent from it ; the territory still attached to it 
become like a desert ; and its maritime possessions, and its 
fleets and commerce been annihilated. Little remained to it 
but the vain titles and insignia of sovereignty. And now the 
time was come when these too were to be withdrawn. Some 
twenty years or more from the death of Attila, and much less 
30 



466 



THE REVELATION. 



from that of Genseric (who, ere his death, had indeed visited 
and ravaged the eternal city in one of his maritime marauding 
expeditions, and thus yet more prepared the coming consumma- 
tion), about this time, I say, Odoacer, chief of the Heruli, — a 
barbarian remnant of the host of Attila, left on the Alpine 
frontiers of Italy, — interposed with his command that the name 
and the office of Roman emperor of the West, should be abol- 
ished. The authorities bowed in submission to him. The last 
phantom of an emperor — one whose name, Romulus Augustus, 
was singularly calculated to bring in contrast before the reflect- 
ive mind the past glories of Rome and its present degradation 
— abdicated ; and the senate sent away the imperial insignia 
to Constantinople, professing to the emperor of the East that 
one emperor was sufficient for the whole of the empire. Thus 
of the Roman imperial sun, that third which appertained to the 
Western empire was eclipsed, and shone no more. I say, That 
third of its orb which appertained to the Western empire ; for 
the Apocalyptic fraction is literally accurate. In the last 
arrangement between the two courts, the whole of the Illyrian 
third had been made over to the Eastern division. Thus in the 
West ' the extinction of the empire ' had taken place ; the 
night had fallen. 

' ' Notwithstanding this, however, it must be borne in mind 
that the authority of the Roman name had not yet entirely 
ceased. The senate of Rome continued to assemble as usual. 
The consuls were appointed yearly, one by the Eastern emperor, 
one by Italy and Rome. Odoacer himself governed Italy under 
a title (that of patrician) conferred on him by the Eastern 
emperor. And as regarded the more distant Western provinces, 
or at least considerable districts in them, the tie which had 
united them to the Roman empire was not altogether severed. 
There was still a certain, though often faint, recognition of the 
supreme imperial authority. The moon and the stars might 
seem still to shine on the West with a dim reflected light. In 
the course of the events, however, which rapidly followed one 
on the other in the next half century, these, too, were extin- 
guished. Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, on destroying the Heruli 



CHAPTER 8, VERSE 13. 



467 



and their kingdom at Eome and Ravenna, ruled in Italy from 
a. d. 493 to 526 as an independent sovereign ; and on Belisa- 
rius's and Narses's conquest of Italy from the Ostrogoths (a con- 
quest preceded by wars and desolations in which Italy, and 
above all its seven-hilled city, were for a time almost made 
desert), the Roman senate was dissolved, the consulship abro- 
gated. Moreover, as regards the barbaric princes of the West- 
ern provinces, their independence of the Roman imperial power 
became now more distinctly averred and understood. After 
above a century and a half of calamities unexampled almost, as 
Dr. Robertson most truly represents it, in the history of nations, 
the statement of Jerome, — a statement couched under the very 
Apocalyptic figure of the text, but prematurely pronounced on 
the first taking of Rome by Alaric, — might be considered as at 
length accomplished : ' Clarissimum terrarum lumen extinctum 
est,' 4 The world's glorious sun has been extinguished and 
that, too, which our own poet has expressed, still under the 
same beautifully appropriate Apocalyptic imagery, — 

' She saw her glories star by star expire,' 

till not even a single star remained, to glimmer on the vacant 
and dark night. ' ' 

The fearful ravages of these barbarian hordes, who, under 
their bold but cruel and desperate leaders, devastated and 
finally subdued Rome, are vividly portrayed in the following 
spirited lines : — 

"And then a deluge of wrath it came, 

And the nations shook with dread ; 
And it swept the earth, till its fields were flame, 

And piled with the mingled dead. 
Kings were rolled in the wasteful flood, 

With the low and crouching slave, 
And together lay, in a shroud of blood, 

The coward and the brave." 

Fearful as were the calamities brought upon the empire by 
the first incursions of these barbarians, they were comparatively 
light as contrasted with the calamities which were to follow. 
They were but as the preliminary drops of a shower before the 



468 



THE REVELATION. 



torrent which was soon to fall upon the Roman world. The 
three remaining trumpets are overshadowed with a cloud of 
woe, as set forth in the following verses. 

Verse 13. And I beheld, and heard an angel frying through the midst 
of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of 
the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, 
which are yet to sound. 

This angel is not one of the series of the seven trumpet 
angels, but simply one who announces that the three remaining 
trumpets are woe trumpets, on account of the more terrible 
events to transpire under their sounding. Thus the next, or 
fifth trumpet, is the first woe ; the sixth trumpet, the second 
woe ; and the seventh, the last one in this series of seven 
trumpets, is the third woe. 




ww*m 



Verse 1. And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from 
Tieaven unto the earth : and to him was given the key of the bottom- 
less pit. 

,^jg^OB an exposition of this trumpet, we shall again draw 
r£C from the writings of Mr. Keith. This writer truthfully 



" There is scarcely so uniform an agreement among in- 
terpreters concerning any other part of the Apocalypse as 
respecting the application of the fifth and sixth trumpets, or 
the first and second woes, to the Saracens and Turks. It is so 
obvious that it can scarcely be misunderstood. Instead of a 
verse or two designating each, the whole of the ninth chapter 
of the Revelation, in equal portions, is occupied with a descrip- 
tion of both. 

"The Roman empire declined, as it arose, by conquest; 
but the Saracens and the Turks were the instruments by which 
a false religion became the scourge of an apostate church; and 
hence, instead of the fifth and sixth trumpets, like the former, 
being designated by that name alone, they are called woes. 

' ' Constantinople was besieged, for the first time after the 
extinction of the Western empire, by Chosroes, the king of 
Persia. " 

"A star fell from heaven unto the earth; and to him was 
given the key of the bottomless pit." 

[469] 



470 



THE REVELATION. 



< ' While the Persian monarch contemplated the wonders of 
his art and power, he received an epistle from an obscure citizen 
of Mecca, inviting him to acknowledge Mohammed as the 
apostle of God. He rejected the invitation, and tore the 
epistle. ' It is thus, ' exclaimed the Arabian prophet, 1 that 
God will tear the kingdom, and reject the supplication of 
Chosroes.' Placed on the verge of these two empires of the 
East, Mohammed observed with secret joy the progress of 
mutual destruction; and in the midst of the Persian triumphs 
he ventured to foretell, that, before many years should elapse, 
victory would again return to the banners of the Romans. ' At 
the time when this prediction is said to have been delivered, no 
prophecy could be more distant from its accomplishment (!) 
since the first twelve years of Heraclius announced the approach- 
. ing dissolution of the empire. ' 

u It was not, like that designative of Attila, on a single spot 
that the star fell, but upon the eakth. 

"Chosroes subjugated the Roman possessions in Asia and 
Africa. And 6 the Roman empire, ' at that period, ' was reduced 
to the walls of Constantinople, with the remnant of Greece, 
Italy, and Africa, and some maritime cities, from Tyre to Tre- 
bizond, of the Asiatic coast. The experience of six years at 
length persuaded the Persian monarch to renounce the conquest 
of Constantinople, arid to specify the annual tribute of the ran- 
som of the Roman empire, — a thousand talents of gold, a thou- 
sand talents of silver, a thousand silk robes, a thousand horses, 
and a thousand virgins. Heraclius subscribed to these igno- 
minious terms. But the time and space which he obtained to 
collect those treasures from the poverty of the East, were indus- 
triously employed in the preparation of a bold and desperate 
attack. ' 

"The king of Persia despised the obscure Saracen, and 
derided the message of the pretended prophet of Mecca. Even 
the overthrow of the Roman empire would not have opened a 
door for Mohammedanism, or for the progress of the Saracenic 
armed propagators of an imposture, though the monarch of the 
Persians and chagan of the Avars (the successor of Attila) had 



CHAPTER 9, VERSE 1. 



471 



divided between them the remains of the kingdom of the Caesars. 
Chosroes himself fell. The Persian and Koman monarchies 
exhausted each other's strength. And before a sword was put 
into the hands of the false prophet, it was smitten from the 
hands of those who would have checked his career and crushed 
his power. 

" 'Since the days of Scipio and Hannibal, no bolder enter- 
prise has been attempted than that which Heraclius achieved 
for the deliverance of the empire. He explored his perilous 
way through the Black Sea and the mountains of Armenia, 
penetrated into the heart of Persia, and recalled the armies 
of the great king to the defense of their bleeding country. ' ' ' 

1 ' In the battle of Nineveh, which was fiercely fought from 
daybreak to the eleventh hour, twenty-eight standards, besides 
those which might be broken or torn, were taken from the 
Persians; the greatest part of their army was cut in pieces, and 
the victors, concealing their own loss, passed the night on the 
field. The cities and palaces of Assyria were opened for the 
first time to the Romans. " 

"The Roman emperor was not strengthened by the con- 
quests which he achieved; and a way was prepared at the same 
time, and by the same means, for the multitude of Saracens 
from Arabia, like locusts from the same region, who, propa* 
gating in their course the dark and delusive Mohammedan 
creed, speedily overspread both the Persian and the Roman 
empire. 

' ' More complete illustration of this fact could not be de- 
sired than is supplied in the concluding words of the chapter 
from Gibbon, from which the preceding extracts are taken." 
"Although a victorious army had been formed under the stand- 
ard of Heraclius, the unnatural effort seems to have exhausted 
rather than exercised their strength. While the emperor tri- 
umphed at Constantinople or Jerusalem, an obscure town on 
the confines of Syria was pillaged by the Saracens, and they cut 
in pieces some troops who advanced to its relief, — an ordinary 
and trifling occurrence, had it not been the prelude of a mighty 
revolution. These robbers were the apostles of Mohammed; 



472 



THE REVELATION. 



their fanatic valor had emerged from the desert; and in the last 
eight years of his reign, Heraclius lost to the Arabs the same 
provinces which he had rescued from the Persians." 

" ' The spirit of fraud and enthusiasm, whose abode is not 
in the heavens,' was let loose on earth. The bottomless pit 
needed but a key to open it, and that hey was the fall of Chos- 
roes. He had contemptuously torn the letter of an obscure 
citizen of Mecca. But when from his ' blaze of glory ' he sunk 
into the ' tower of darkness, ' which no eye could penetrate, the 
name of Chosroes was suddenly to pass into oblivion before 
that of Mohammed; and the crescent seemed but to wait its 
rising till the falling of the star. Chosroes, after his entire 
discomfiture and loss of empire, was murdered in the year 628; 
and the year 629 is marked by 'the conquest of Arabia,' and 
' the first war of the Mohammedans against the Roman empire. ' 
4 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven 
unto the earth ; and to him was given the key of the bottomless 
pit. And he opened the bottomless pit.' He fell unto the 
earth. When the strength of the Roman empire was exhausted, 
and the great king of the East lay dead in his tower of dark- 
ness, the pillage of an obscure town on the borders of Syria 
was ' the prelude of a mighty revolution. ' ' The robbers were 
the apostles of Mohammed, and their fanatic valor emerged 
from the desert.' " 

The Bottomless Pit. — The meaning of this term may be 
learned from the Greek aftvaoog, which is defined ' ' deep, bottom- 
less, profound," and may refer to any waste, desolate, and 
uncultivated place. It is applied to the earth in its original 
state of chaos. Gen. 1:2. In this instance it may appro- 
priately refer to the unknown wastes of the Arabian desert, 
from the borders of which issued the hordes of Saracens, like 
swarms of locusts. And the fall of Chosroes, the Persian king, 
may well be represented as the opening of the bottomless pit, 
inasmuch as it prepared the way for the followers of Moham- 
med to issue from their obscure country, and propagate their 
delusive doctrines with fire and sword, till they had spread their 
darkness over all the Eastern empire. 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 2-4. 



473 



Verse 2. And he opened the bottomless pit ; and there arose a smoke 
out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace ; and the sun and the air 
were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 

" Like the noxious and even deadly vapor which the winds, 
particularly from the southwest, diffuse in Arabia, Mohammed- 
anism spread from thence its pestilential influence, — arose as 
suddenly and spread as widely as smoke arising out of the pit, 
the smoke of a great furnace. Such is a suitable symbol of 
the religion of Mohammed, of itself, or as compared with the 
pure light of the gospel of Jesus. It was not, like the latter, 
a light from heaven, but a smoke out of the bottomless pit." 

Verse 3. And there came ^ut of the smoke locusts upon the earth : 
and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have 
power. 

< ' A false religion was set up, which, although the scourge 
of transgressions and idolatry, filled the world with darkness 
and delusion; and swarms of Saracens, like locusts, overspread 
the earth, and speedily extended their ravages over the Roman 
empire, from east to west. The hail descended from the frozen 
shores of the Baltic; the burning mountain fell upon the sea 
from Africa; and the locusts (the fit symbol of the Arabs) is- 
sued from Arabia, their native region. They came as destroy- 
ers, propagating a new doctrine, and stirred up to rapine and 
violence by motives of interest and religion. 

' ' A still more specific illustration may be given of the 
power, like unto that of scorpions, which was given them. 
Not only was their attack speedy and vigorous, but ' the nice 
sensibility of honor, which weighs the insult rather than the in- 
jury, sheds its deadly venom on the quarrels of the Arabs; an 
indecent action, a contemptuous word, can be expiated only by 
the blood of the offender; and such is their patient inveteracy, 
that they expect whole months and years the opportunity of 
revenge.' " 

Verse 4. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the 
grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree ; but only 
those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 



474 



THE REVELATION. 



After the death of Mohammed, he was succeeded in the 
command by Abubeker, a. d. 632, who, as soon as he had 
fairly established his authority and government, despatched a 
circular letter to the Arabian tribes, from which the following 
is an extract : — 

' ' ' When you fight the battles of the Lord, acquit yourselves 
like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory 
be stained with the blood of women and children. Destroy no 
palm-trees, nor burn any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit- 
trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to 
eat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and 
be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some re- 
ligious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to 
themselves to serve God that way; let them alone, and neither 
kill them nor destroy their monasteries. And you will find 
another sort of people that belong to the synagogue of Satan, 
who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and 
give them no quarter till they either turn Mohammedans or 
pay tribute. ' 

"It is not said in prophecy or in history that the more 
humane injunctions were as scrupulously obeyed as the fero- 
cious mandate; but it was so commanded them. And the pre- 
ceding are the only instructions recorded by Gibbon, as given 
by Abubeker to the chiefs whose duty it was to issue the com- 
mands to all the Saracen hosts. The commands are alike dis- 
criminating with the prediction, as if the caliph himself had 
been acting in known as well as direct obedience to a higher 
mandate than that of mortal man; and in the very act of 
going forth to fight against the religion of Jesus, and to 
propagate Mohammedanism in its stead, he repeated the 
words which it was foretold in the Revelation of Jesus 
Christ that he would say." 

The Seal of God in their Foreheads. — In remarks upon 
chapter 7 : 1-3, we have shown that the seal of God is the Sab- 
bath of the fourth commandment; and history is not silent 
upon the fact that there have been observers of the true Sab- 
bath all through the present dispensation. But the question 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 2-4. 



475 



has here arisen with many, Who were those men who at this 
time had the seal of God in their foreheads, and who thereby 
became exempt from Mohammedan oppression ? Let the reader 
bear in mind the fact, already alluded to, that there have been 
those all through this dispensation who have had the seal of 
God in their foreheads, or have been intelligent observers of 
the true Sabbath; and let him consider further that what the 
prophecy asserts is that the attacks of this desolating Turkish 
power are not directed against them but against another class. 
The subject is thus freed from all difficulty; for this is all that 
the prophecy really asserts. Only one class of persons is di- 
rectly brought to view in the text; namely, those who have not 
the seal of God in their foreheads; and the preservation of those 
who have the seal of God is brought in only by implication. 
Accordingly, we do not learn from history that any of these 
were involved in any of the calamities inflicted by the Saracens 
upon the objects of their hate. They were commissioned against 
another class of men. And the destruction to come upon this 
class of men is not put in contrast with the preservation of 
other men, but only with that of the fruits and verdure of the 
earth; thus, Hurt not the grass, trees, nor any green thing, but 
only a certain class of men. And in fulfilment, we have the 
strange spectacle of an army of invaders sparing those things 
which such armies usually destroy, namely, the face and pro- 
ductions of nature; and, in pursuance of their permission to 
hurt those men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads, 
cleaving the skulls of a class of religionists with shaven crowns, 
who belonged to the synagogue of Satan. 

These were doubtless a class of monks, or some other divi- 
sion of the Roman Catholic Church. Against these, the arms 
of the Mohammedans were directed. And it seems to us that 
there is a peculiar fitness, if not design, in describing them as 
those who had not the seal of God in their foreheads; inasmuch 
as that is the very church which has robbed the law of God of 
its seal, by tearing away the true Sabbath, and erecting a coun- 
terfeit in its place. And we do not understand, either from the 
prophecy or from history, that those persons whom Abubeker 



476 



THE REVELATION. 



charged his followers not to molest were in possession of the 
seal of God, or necessarily constituted the people of God. 
Who they were, and for what reason they were spared, the 
meager testimony of Gibbon does not inform us, and we have 
no other means of knowing; but we have every reason to 
believe that none of those who had the seal of God were mo- 
lested, while another class, who emphatically had it not, were 
put to the sword; and thus the specifications of the prophecy 
are amply met. 

Verse 5. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, 
but that they should be tormented five months ; and their torment was as 
the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 

''Their constant incursions into the Roman territory, and 
frequent assaults on Constantinople itself, were an unceasing 
.torment throughout the empire; and yet they were not able 
effectually to subdue it, notwithstanding the long period, after- 
ward more directly alluded to, during which they continued, by 
unremitting attacks, grievously to afflict an idolatrous church, 
of which the pope was the head. Their charge was to torment, 
and then to hurt, but not to kill, or utterly destroy. The 
marvel was that they did not." (In reference to the five 
months, see on verse 10.) 

Verse 6. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find 
it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 

"Men were weary of life, when life was spared only for a 
renewal of woe, and when all that they accounted sacred was 
violated, and all that they held dear constantly endangered, 
and the savage Saracens domineered over them, or left them 
only to a momentary repose, ever liable to be suddenly or 
violently interrupted, as if by the sting of a scorpion." 

Verse 7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses pre- 
pared unto battle ; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, 
and their faces were as the faces of men. 

* ' The Arabian horse takes the lead throughout the world ; 
and skill in horsemanship is the art and science of Arabia. 
And the barbed Arabs, swift as locusts and armed like scor- 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 5-9. 



477 



pions, ready to dart away in a moment, were ever prepared 
unto battle. 

" 'And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold.' 
When Mohammed entered Medina (a. d. 622), and was first 
received as its prince, ' a turban was unfurled before him to 
supply the deficiency of a standard.' The turbans of the 
Saracens, like unto a coronet, were their ornament and their 
boast. The rich booty abundantly supplied and frequently 
renewed them. To assume the turban is proverbially to turn 
Mussulman. And the Arabs were anciently distinguished by 
the miters which they wore. 

' ' ' And their faces were as the faces of men. ' < The gravity 
and firmness of the mind of the Arab is conspicuous in his out- 
ward demeanor; his only gesture is that of stroking his beard, 
the venerable symbol of manhood. ' < The honor of their 
beards is most easily wounded.' " 

Vekse 8. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth 
were as the teeth of lions. 

''Longhair" is esteemed an ornament by women. The 
Arabs, unlike other men, had their hair as the hair of women, 
or uncut, as their practice is recorded by Pliny and others. 
But there was nothing effeminate in their character; for, as 
denoting their ferocity and strength to devour, their teeth were 
as the teeth of lions. 

Vekse 9. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron ; 
and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses 
running to battle. 

The Breastplate. — 4 'The cuirass (or breastplate) was in use 
among the Arabs in the days of Mohammed. In the battle of 
Ohud (the second which Mohammed fought) with the Koreish 
of Mecca (a. d. 624), ' seven hundred of them were armed 
with cuirasses.' " 

The Sound of their Wings. — "The charge of the Arabs 
was not, like that of the Greeks and Komans, the efforts of a 
firm and compact infantry; their military force was chiefly 
formed of cavalry and archers. With a touch of the hand, the 



478 



THE REVELATION. 



Arab horses darted away with the swiftness of the wind. < < The 
sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many 
horses running to battle." Their conquests were marvelous 
both in rapidity and extent, and their attack was instantaneous. 
Nor was it less successful against the Komans than the Per- 
sians." 

Verse 10. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were 
stings in their tails : and their power was to hurt men five months. 11. 
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, 
whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue 
hath his name Apollyon. 

Thus far, Keith has furnished us with illustrations of the 
sounding of the first five trumpets. But we must now take 
leave of him, and proceed to the application of the new feature 
of the prophecy here introduced; namely, the prophetic periods. 

Their Power Was to Hurt Men Five Months. — 1. The 
question arises, What men were they to hurt five months ? — 
Undoubtedly the same they were afterward to slay (see verse 
15); " the third part of men," or third of the Roman empire, — 
the Greek division of it. 

2. When were they to begin their work of torment ? The 
11th verse answers the question. 

(1.) 4 'They had a king over them." From the death of 
Mohammed until near the close of the thirteenth century, the 
Mohammedans were divided into various factions under several 
leaders, with no general civil government extending over them 
all. Near the close of the thirteenth century, Othman founded 
a government which has since been known as the Ottoman 
government, or empire, extending over all the principal Mo- 
hammedan tribes, consolidating them into one grand monarchy. 

(2.) The character of the king. u Which is the angel of the 
bottomless pit." An angel signifies a messenger, or minister, 
either good or bad, and not always a spiritual being. "The 
angel of the bottomless pit, ' ' or chief minister of the religion 
which came from thence when it was opened. That religion is 
Mohammedanism, and the sultan is its chief minister. ' ' The 
Sultan, or grand Seignior, as he is indifferently called, is also 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 10, 11. 



479 



Supreme Caliph, or high priest, uniting in his person the highest 
spiritual dignity with the supreme secular authority." — World 
as It Is, p. 361. 

(3.) His name. In Hebrew, " Abaddon, " the destroyer; in 
Greek, " Apollyon," one that exterminates, or destroys. Hav- 
ing two different names in two languages, it is evident that the 
character, rather than the name of the power, is intended to be 
represented. If so, as expressed in both languages, he is a 
destroyer. Such has always been the character of the Ottoman 
government. 

But when did Othman make his first assault on the 
Greek empire? — According to Gibbon, Decline and Fall, 
etc., " Othman first entered the territory of Nicomedia on the 
mh day of July, 1299." 

The calculations of some writers have gone upon the suppo- 
sition that the period should begin with the foundation of the 
Ottoman empire; but this is evidently an error; for they were 
not only to have a king over them, but were to torment men 
five months. But the period of torment could not begin before 
the first attack of the tormentors, which was, as above stated, 
July 27, 1299. 

The calculation which follows, founded on this starting- 
point, was made and published in a work entitled, Christ's 
Second Coming, etc., by J. Litch, in 1838. 

" And their power was to hurt men five months." Thus 
far their commission extended, to torment by constant dep- 
redations, but not politically to kill them. "Five months," 
thirty days to a month, give us one hundred and fifty days; 
and these days, being symbolic, signify one hundred and fifty 
years. Commencing July 27, 1299, the one hundred and fifty 
years reach to 1449. During that whole period the Turks 
were engaged in an almost perpetual warfare with the Greek 
empire, but yet without conquering it. They seized upon and 
held several of the Greek provinces, but still Greek independ- 
ence was maintained in Constantinople. But in 1449, the 
termination of the one hundred and fifty years, a change came, 
the history of which will be found under the succeeding trumpet. 



480 



THE REVELATION. 



Verse 12. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes 
more hereafter. 13. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice 
from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14. Saying 
to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which 
are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15. And the four angels were 
loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a 
year, for to slay the third part of men. 

The first woe was to continue from the rise of Mohammed- 
anism until the end of the five months. Then the first woe 
was to end, and the second to begin. And when the sixth 
angel sounded, it was commanded to take off the restraints 
which had been imposed on the nation, by which they were 
restricted to the work of tormenting men, and their commission 
was enlarged so as to permit them to slay the third part of men. 
This command came from the four horns of the golden altar. 

The Four Angels. — These were the four principal sultanies 
of which the Ottoman empire was composed, located in the 
country watered by the great river Euphrates. These sultanies 
were situated at Aleppo, Iconium, Damascus, and Bagdad. 
Previously they had been restrained; but God commanded, 
and they were loosed. 

In the year 1449, John Palseologus, the Greek emperor, 
died, but left no children to inherit his throne, and Constan- 
tine, his brother, succeeded to it. 1 But he would not venture 
to ascend the throne without the consent of Amurath, the 
Turkish sultan. He therefore sent ambassadors to ask his 
consent, and obtained it before he presumed to call himself 
sovereign. 

Let this historical fact be carefully examined in connection 
with the prediction given above. This was not a violent 
assault made on the Greeks, by which their empire was over- 
thrown and their independence taken away, but simply a 
voluntary surrender of that independence into the hands of 
the Turks. The authority and supremacy of the Turkish 
power was acknowledged when Constantine virtually said, ' 4 1 
cannot reign unless you permit." 



i Some historians have given this date as 1448, but the best authorities sustain 
the date here given, 1449. See Chambers's Encyclopedia, art. Palasologus. 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 12-16. 



481 



m The four angels were loosed for an hour, a day, a month, 
and a year, to slay the third part of men. This period 
amounts to three hundred ninety-one years and fifteen days, 
during which Ottoman supremacy was to exist in Constanti- 
nople. Thus : A prophetic year is three hundred and sixty 
prophetic days, or three hundred and sixty literal years; a 
prophetic month, thirty prophetic days, is thirty literal years; 
one prophetic day is one literal year ; and an hour, or the 
twenty-fourth part of a prophetic day, would be a twenty-fourth 
part of a literal year, or fifteen days; the whole amounting 
to three hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days. 

But although the four angels were thus loosed by the vol- 
untary submission of the Greeks, yet another doom awaited 
the seat of empire. Amurath, the sultan to whom the sub- 
mission of Constantine XIII was made, and by whose permis- 
sion he reigned in Constantinople, soon after died, and was 
succeeded in the empire, in 1451, by Mohammed II, who set 
his heart on securing Constantinople as the seat of his empire. 

He accordingly made preparations for besieging and taking 
the city. The siege commenced on the 6th of April, 1453, 
and ended in the capture of the city, and the death of the last 
of the Constantines, on the 16th day of May following. And 
the eastern city of the Caesars became the seat of the Ottoman 
empire. 

The arms and mode of warfare which were used in the 
siege in which Constantinople was to be overthrown and held 
in subjection, were, as we shall see, distinctly noticed by the 
Revelator. 

Verse 16. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two 
hundred thousand thousand : and I heard the number of them. 

Innumerable hordes of horses, and them that sat on them ! 
Gibbon thus describes the first invasion of the Roman territo- 
ries by the Turks : ' ' The myriads of Turkish horse overspread 
a frontier of six hundred miles, from Taurus to Erzeroum; and 
the blood of 130,000 Christians was a grateful sacrifice to the 
Arabian Prophet. ' ' Whether the language is designed to con- 
31 



482 



THE REVELATION. 



vey the idea of any definite number or not, the reader must 
judge. Some suppose 200,000 twice told is meant, and, fol- 
lowing some historians, they find that number of Turkish war- 
riors in the siege of Constantinople. Some think 200,000,000 
to mean all the Turkish warriors during the three hundred and 
ninety-one years and fifteen days of their triumph over the 
Greeks. Nothing can be affirmed on the point. And it is 
nothing at all essential. 

Verse 17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat 
on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone : and 
the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their 
mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 

The first part of this description may have reference to the 
appearance of these horsemen. Fire, representing a color, 
stands for red, " as red as fire " being a frequent form of ex- 
pression; jacinth, or hyacinth, for blue; and brimstone, for 
yellow. And these colors greatly predominated in the dress of 
these warriors; so that the description, according to this view, 
would be accurately met in the Turkish uniform, which was 
composed largely of red, or scarlet, blue, and yellow. The 
heads of the horses were, in appearance, as the heads of lions, 
to denote their strength, courage, and fierceness; while the 
last part of the verse undoubtedly has reference to the use of 
gunpowder and firearms for purposes of war, which were 
then but recently introduced. As the Turks discharged their 
firearms on horseback, it would appear to the distant beholder 
that the fire, smoke, and brimstone, issued out of the horses' 
mouths, as illustrated by the accompanying plate. 1 

i Quite an agreement exists among commentators in applying the prophecy 
concerning the fire, smoke, and brimstone to the use of gunpowder by the Turks 
in their warfare against the Eastern empire. (See Clarke, Barnes, Elliott, Cottage 
Bible, etc.) But they generally allude simply to the heavy ordnance, the large 
cannon, employed by that power; whereas the prophecy mentions especially the 
"horses," and the fire "issuing from their mouths," as though smaller arms were 
used, and used on horseback. Barnes thinks this was the case; and a statement 
from Gibbon confirms this view. He says (IV, 343): "The incessant volleys of 
lances and arrows were accompanied with the smoke, the sound, and the fire of 
their musketry and cannon." Here is good historical evidence that muskets were 
used by the Turks ; and, secondly, it is undisputed that in their general warfare 
they fought principally on horseback. The inference is therefore well supported 
that they used firearms on horseback, accurately fulfilling the prophecy, accord- 
ing to the illustration above referred to. 



CHAPTER 9, VERSE 17. 



483 



Respecting the use of firearms by the Turks in their cam- 
paign against Constantinople, Elliott (Horse Apocalypticse, Yol. 
I, pp. 482-484) thus speaks: — 

' < It was to ' the fire and the smoke and the sulphur, ' to the 
artillery and firearms of Mahomet, that the killing of the third 
part of men, i. e., the capture of Constantinople, and by con- 
sequence the destruction of the Greek empire, was owing. 
Eleven hundred years and more had now elapsed since her 
foundation by Constantine. In the course of them, Goths, 
Huns, Avars, Persians, Bulgarians, Saracens, Russians, and 
indeed the Ottoman Turks themselves, had made their hostile 
assaults, or laid siege against it. But the fortifications were 
impregnable by them. Constantinople survived, and ivith it 
the Greek empire. Hence the anxiety of the Sultan Mahomet 
to find that which would remove the obstacle. ' Canst thou 
cast a cannon,' was his question to the founder of cannon that 
deserted to him, 4 of size sufficient to batter down the wall 
of Constantinople ? ' Then the foundry was established at 
Adrianople, the cannon cast, the artillery prepared, and the 
siege began. 

"It well deserves remark, how Gibbon, always the uncon- 
scious commentator on the Apocalyptic prophecy, puts this 
new instrumentality of war into the foreground of his picture, 
in his eloquent and striking narrative of the final catastrophe 
of the Greek empire. In preparation for it, he gives the his- 
tory of the recent invention of gunpowder, ' that mixture of 
saltpeter, sulphur, and charcoal; ' tells of its earlier use by 
the Sultan Amurath, and also, as before said, of Mahomet's 
foundry of larger cannon at Adrianople; then, in the progress 
of the siege itself, describes how 6 the volleys of lances and 
arrows were accompanied with the smoke, the sound, and the 
fire of the musketry and cannon : ' how ' the long order of the 
Turkish artillery was pointed against the walls, fourteen bat- 
teries thundering at once on the most accessible places : ' how 
' the fortifications which had stood for ages against hostile vio- 
lence were dismantled on all sides by the Ottoman cannon, 
many breaches opened, and near the gate of St. Romanus, 



484 THE REVELATION. 

four towers leveled with the ground : ' how, as ' from the lines, 
the gallies, and the bridge, the Ottoman artillery thundered on 
all sides, the camp and city, the Greeks and the Turks, were 
involved in a cloud of smoke, which could only be* dispelled by 
the final deliverance or destruction of the Roman < empire : ' how 
' the double walls were reduced by the cannon to a heap of 
ruins : ' and how the Turks at length ' rushing through the 
breaches, ' 6 Constantinople was subdued, her empire subverted, 
and her religion trampled in the dust by the Moslem con- 
querors.' I say it well deserves observation how markedly 
and strikingly Gibbon attributes the capture of the city, and 
so the destruction of the empire, to the Ottoman artillery. 
For what is it but a comment on the words of our prophecy ? 
c By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, 
and by the smoke, and by the sulphur, which issued out of 
their mouths.' " 

Verse 18. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the 
fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their 
mouths. 19. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails ; for 
their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they 
do hurt. 

These verses express the deadly effect of the new mode of 
warfare introduced. It was by means of these agents, — gun- 
powder, firearms, and cannon, — that Constantinople was finally 
overcome, and given into the hands of the Turks. 

In addition to the fire, smoke, and brimstone, which appar- 
ently issued out of their mouths, it is said that their power 
was also in their tails. It is a remarkable fact that the horse's 
tail is a well-known Turkish standard, a symbol of office and 
authority. The meaning of the expression appears to be that 
their tails were the symbol, or emblem of their authority. The 
image before the mind of John would seem to have been that 
he saw the horses belching out fire and smoke, and, what was 
equally strange, he saw that their power of spreading desola- 
tion was connected with the tails of the horses. Any one look- 
ing on a body of cavalry with such banners, or ensigns, would 
be struck with this unusual or remarkable appearance, and 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 18, 19. 



485 



would speak of their banners as concentrating and directing 
their power. 

This supremacy of the Mohammedans over the Greeks was 
to continue, as already noticed, three hundred and ninety- one 
years and fifteen days. Commencing when the one hundred 
and fifty years ended, July 27, 1449, the period would end 
Aug. 11, 1840. Judging from the manner of the commence- 
ment of the Ottoman supremacy, that it was by a voluntary 
acknowledgment on the part of the Greek emperor that he 
reigned only by permission of the Turkish sultan, we should 
naturally conclude that the fall or departure of the Ottoman 
independence would be brought about in the same way; that at 
the end of the specified period, that is, on the 11th of August, 
1840, the sultan would voluntarily surrender his independence 
into the hands of the Christian powers, just as he had, three 
hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days before, received 
it from the hands of the Christian emperor, Constantine XIII. 

This conclusion was reached, and this application of the 
prophecy was made, by Elder J. Litch in 1838, two years before 
the predicted event was to occur. It was then purely a matter 
of calculation on the prophetic periods of Scripture. Now, 
however, the time has passed by, and it is proper to inquire 
what the result has been — whether such events did transpire 
according to the previous calculation. The matter sums itself 
up in the following inquiry : — 

When Did Mohammedan Independence in Constantinople 
Depart f — For several years previous to 1840, the sultan had 
been embroiled in war with Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt. 
In 1838 the trouble between the sultan and his Egyptian vas- 
sal was for the time being restrained by the influence of the 
foreign ambassadors. In 1839, however, hostilities were again 
commenced, and were prosecuted until, in a general battle be- 
tween the armies of the sultan and Mehemet, the sultan's army 
was entirely cut up and destroyed, and his fleet taken by Me- 
hemet and carried into Egypt. So completely had the sultan's 
fleet been reduced, that, when the war again commenced in 
August, he had only two first-rates and three frigates as the 



486 



THE REVELATION. 



sad remains of the once powerful Turkish fleet. This fleet 
Mehemet positively refused to give up and return to the sul- 
tan, and declared that if the powers attempted to take it from 
him, he would burn it. In this posture affairs stood, when, in 
1840, England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia interposed, and 
determined on a settlement of the difficulty; for it was evident 
that, if let alone, Mehemet would soon become master of the 
sultan's throne. 

The sultan accepted this intervention of the great powers, 
and thus made a voluntary surrender of the question into their 
hands. A conference of these powers was held in London, 
the Sheik Effendi Bey Likgis being present as Ottoman pleni- 
potentiary. An ultimatum was drawn up to be presented to 
the pasha of Egypt, whereby the sultan was to offer him the 
hereditary government of Egypt, and all that part of Syria 
extending from the Gulf of Suez to the Lake of Tiberias to- 
gether with the province of Acre, for life; he on his part to 
evacuate all other parts of the sultan's dominions then occupied 
by him, and to return the Ottoman fleet. In case he refused 
this offer from the sultan, the four powers were to take the 
matter into their own hands, and use such other means to bring 
him to terms as they should see fit. 

It is apparent that just as soon as this ultimatum should be 
put by the sultan into the hands of Mehemet Ali, the matter 
would be forever beyond the control of the former, and the dis- 
posal of his affairs would, from that moment, be in the hands 
of foreign powers. The sultan despatched Rifat Bey on a 
government steamer to Alexandria, to communicate the ultima- 
tum to the pasha. It was put into his hands, and by him taken 
in charge, on the eleventh day of August, 1840! On the same 
day, a note was addressed by the sultan to the ambassadors of 
the four powers, inquiring what plan was to be adopted in case 
the pasha should refuse to comply with the terms of the ulti- 
matum, to which they made answer that provision had been 
made, and there was no necessity of his alarming himself 
about any contingency that might arise.- This day the period 
of three hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days, allotted 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 20-21. 



487 



to the continuance of the Ottoman power, ended; and ivhere 
was the sultanas independence f — GONE ! Who had the su- 
premacy of the Ottoman empire in their hands ? — The four 
great powers ; and that empire has existed ever since only by 
the sufferance of these Christian powers. Thus was the proph- 
ecy fulfilled to the very letter. 

From the first publication of the calculation of this matter 
in 1838, before referred to, the time set for the fulfilment of 
the prophecy — Aug. 11, 1840 — was watched by thousands 
with intense interest. And the exact accomplishment of the 
event predicted, showing, as it did, the right application of the 
prophecy, gave a mighty impetus to the great Advent move- 
ment then beginning to attract the attention of the world. 

Verse 20. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these 
plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should 
not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and 
of wood : which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk : 21. Neither re- 
pented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornica- 
tion, nor of their thefts. 

God designs that men shall make a note of his judgments, 
and receive the lessons he thereby designs to convey. But how 
slow are they to learn! and how blind to the indications of 
providence! The events that transpired under the sixth trumpet 
constituted the second woe; yet these judgments led to no 
improvement in the manners and morals of men. Those who 
escaped them learned nothing by their manifestation in the 
earth. The worship of devils (demons, dead men deified) and 
of idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, may find a ful- 
filment in the saint worship and image worship of the Koman 
Catholic Church; while of murders, sorceries (pretended mira- 
cles through the agency of departed saints), fornications, and 
thefts, in countries where the Roman religion has prevailed, 
there has been no lack. 

The hordes of Saracens and Turks were let loose as a scourge 
and punishment upon apostate Christendom. Men suffered the 
punishment, but learned therefrom no lesson. 



Verse 1. And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, 
clothed with a cloud : and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was 
as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. 2. And he had in his 
hand a little book open : and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his 
left foot on the earth. 

nfN this scripture we have another instance in which the 



consecutive line of thought is for a time interrupted; and 



A Parenthetical Projihecy.— Ch&^tQY 9 closed with the 
events of the sixth trumpet. The sounding of the seventh 
trumpet is not introduced until we reach the loth verse of 
chapter 11. The whole of chapter 10, and a portion of chapter 
11, therefore, come in parenthetically between the sixth and 
seventh trumpets. That which is particularly connected with 
the sounding of the sixth trumpet is recorded in chapter 9. 
The prophet has other events to introduce before the opening 
of another trumpet, and takes occasion to do it in the scripture 
which intervenes to the 15th verse of chapter 11. Among these 
is the prophecy of chapter 10. Let us first look at the chro- 
nology of the message of this angel. 

The Little Booh. — 6 ' He had in his hand a little book open. ' ' 
There is a necessary inference to be drawn from this language, 
which is, that this book was at some time closed up. We read 
in Daniel of a book which was closed up and sealed to a certain 
time : "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the 




comes m as — 



[488] 




THE ANGEL ON SEA AND LAND. 

Rev. 10:2. 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 1, 2. 



489 



book, even to the time of the end : many shall run to and fro, 
and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12:4. Since this 
book was closed up only till the time of the end, it follows that 
at the time of the end the book would be opened; and as its 
closing was mentioned in prophecy, it would be but reasonable 
to expect that in the predictions of events to take place at the 
time of the end, the opening of this book would also be men- 
tioned. There is no book spoken of as closed up and sealed 
except the book of Daniel's prophecy; and there is no account of 
the opening of that book, unless it be here in the 10th of Rev- 
elation. We see, furthermore, that in both places the contents 
ascribed to the book are the same. The book which Daniel had 
directions to close up and seal had reference to time : " How 
long shall it be to the end of these wonders \ ' ' And when the 
angel of this chapter comes down with the little book open, on 
which he bases his proclamation, he gives a message in relation 
to time : "Time shall be no longer." Nothing more could be 
required to show that both expressions refer to one book, and to 
prove that the little book which the angel had in his hand open, 
was the book of the prophecy of Daniel. 

An important point is now determined toward settling the 
chronology of this angel ; for we have seen that the prophecy, 
more particularly the prophetic periods of Daniel, were not to 
be opened till the time of the end; and if this is the book 
which the angel had in his hand ope?i, it follows that he pro- 
claims his message this side of the time when the book should 
be opened, or somewhere this side of the commencement of the 
time of the end. All that now remains on this point is to 
ascertain when the time of the end commenced; and the book 
of Daniel itself furnishes data from which this can be done. 
In Daniel 11, from verse 30, the papal power is brought to 
view. In verse 35 we read, u And some of them of under- 
standing shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and make them 
white, even to the time of the end." Here is brought to view 
the period of the supremacy of the little horn, during which 
time the saints, times, and laws were to be given into his hand, 
and from him suffer fearful persecutions. This is declared to 



490 



THE REVELATION. 



reach to the time of the end. It ended a. d. 1798, where the 
1260 years of papal rule expired. There the time of the end 
commenced, and the book was opened. And since that time, 
many have run to and fro, and knowledge on these prophetic 
subjects has marvelously increased. 

The chronology of the events of Revelation 10 is further 
ascertained from the fact that this angel is identical with the 
first angel of Revelation 14. The points of identity between 
them are easily seen : (1) They both have a special message to 
proclaim; (2) they both utter their proclamation with a loud 
voice; (3) they both use similar language, referring to the 
great Creator as the maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and 
the things that are therein; and (4) they both proclaim time, 
one swearing that time should be no more, and the other pro- 
claiming that the hour of God's Judgment has come. But the 
message of Rev 14 : 6 is located this side of the commence- 
ment of the time of the end. It is a proclamation of the hour 
of God's Judgment come, and hence must have its application 
in the last generation. Paul did not preach the hour of Judg- 
ment come. Luther and his coadjutors did not preach it. 
Paul reasoned of a Judgment to come, indefinitely future; and 
Luther placed it at least three hundred years off from his day. 
Moreover, Paul warns the church against any such preaching 
as that the hour of God's Judgment has come, until a certain 
time. In 2 Thess. 2 : 1-3, he says: "Now we beseech you, 
brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our 
gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in 
mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by 
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no 
man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, 
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin he 
revealed, the son of perdition," etc. Here Paul introduces to 
our view the man of sin, the little horn, the papacy, and covers 
with a caution the whole period of his supremacy, which, as 
already noticed, continued 1260 years, ending in 1798. In 
1798, therefore, the restriction against proclaiming the day of 
Christ at hand ceased; in 1798, the time of the end com- 



CHAPTER 10. VERSES 3, 4. 



491 



menced, and the seal was taken from the little book. Since 
that period, therefore, the angel of Revelation 14 has gone 
forth proclaiming the hour of God's Judgment come; and it is 
since that time, too, that the angel of chapter 10 has taken his 
stand on sea and land, and sworn that time shall be no more. 
Of their identity there can now be no question; and all the 
arguments which go to locate the one, are equally effective in 
the case of the other. We need not enter into any argument 
here to show that the present generation is witnessing the ful- 
filment of these two prophecies. In the preaching of the 
advent, more especially from 1840 to 1844, began their full 
and circumstantial accomplishment. The position of this 
angel, one foot upon the sea and the other on the land, denotes 
the wide extent of his proclamation by sea and by land. Had 
this message been designed for only one country, it would 
have been sufficient for the angel to take his position on the 
land only. But he has one foot upon the sea, from which we 
may infer that his message would cross the ocean, and extend 
to the various nations and divisions of the globe; and this 
inference is strengthened by the fact that the Advent procla- 
mation, above referred to, did go to every missionary station 
in the world. More on this under chapter 14. 

Verse 3. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth : and 
when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4. And when 
the seven thunders had uttered their voices. I was about to write : and I 
heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which 
the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. 

The Seven Thunders. — It would be vain to speculate to any 
great length upon the seven thunders, in hope of gaining a 
definite knowledge of what they uttered. We must acquiesce 
in the directions given to John concerning them, and leave 
them where he left them, sealed up, unwritten, and conse- 
quently to us unknown. There is, however, a conjecture 
extant in relation to them, which may not inappropriately be 
mentioned here. It is that what the seven thunders uttered is 
the experience of the Adventists engaged in that movement, 
embracing their sore disappointment and trial. Something, 



492 



THE REVELATION. 



evidently, was uttered which it would not be well for the 
church to know; and for God to have given an inspired record 
of the Advent movement in advance, would have been simply 
to defeat that movement, which we verily believe was in all its 
particulars an accomplishment of his purposes, and according 
to his will. Why, then, any mention of the seven thunders at 
all? Following out the above-noticed conjecture, the conclusion 
would be that we, having ; met in our history with sudden, 
mysterious, and unexpected events, as startling and strange as 
thunders from an unclouded sky, might not give up in utter 
perplexity, inferring, as we may, that all is in the order and 
providence of God, since something of this nature was sealed 
up, and hidden from the church. 

Verse 5. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon 
the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6. And sware by him that liveth 
forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, 
and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the 
things which are therein, that there should be time no longer. 

Time No Longer. — What is the meaning of this most sol- 
emn declaration ? It cannot mean that with the message of 
this angel, time, as computed in this world, in comparison with 
eternity, should end; for the next verse speaks of the days of 
the voice of the seventh angel; and chapter 11 : 15-19 gives us 
some of the events to take place under this trumpet, which 
transpire in the present state. And it cannot mean probation- 
ary time; for that does not cease till Christ closes his work as 
priest, which is not till after the seventh angel has commenced 
to sound. Rev. 11 : 19. It must therefore mean prophetic 
time; for there is no other to which it can refer. Prophetic 
time shall be no more — not that time should never be used in 
a prophetic sense; for the 4 4 days of the voice of the seventh 
angel," spoken of immediately after, doubtless mean the years 
of the seventh angel; but no prophetic period should extend 
beyond this message; those that reach to the latest point would 
all close there. Arguments on the prophetic periods, showing 
that the longest ones did not extend beyond the autumn of 
1844, will be found in remarks on Dan. 8 : 14. 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 5-7. 493 

Vebse 7. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he 
shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath 
declared to his servants the prophets. 

The Days of the Voice of the Seventh Angel. — This seventh 
trumpet is not that which is spoken of in 1 Cor. 15 : 52 as the 
last trump, which wakes the sleeping dead; but it is the 
seventh of the series of the seven trumpets, and like the others 
of the series, occupies days ( years ) in sounding. In the days 
when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be fin- 
ished. Not in the day when he shall begin to sound, not in 
the very commencement of his sounding, but in the early years 
of his sounding, the mystery of God shall be finished. 

Commencement of the Seventh Trumpet. — From the events 
to take place under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, its 
commencement may be located with sufficient definiteness at 
the close of the prophetic periods in 1844. Not many years 
from that date, then, the mystery of God is to be finished. 
The great event, whatever it is, is right upon us. Some closing 
and decisive work, with whatever of importance and solemnity 
it bears in its train, is near at hand. There is an importance 
connected with the finishing of any of the works of God. Such 
an act marks a solemn and important era. Our Saviour, when 
expiring upon the cross, cried, " It is finished " ( John 19 : 30); 
and when the great work of mercy for fallen man is completed, 
it will be announced by a voice from the throne of God, pro- 
claiming, in tones which roll like thunder through all the earth, 
the solemn sentence, " It is done ! " Eev. 16 : 17. It is there- 
fore no uncalled-for solicitude which prompts us to inquire 
what bearing such events have upon our eternal hopes and 
interests; and, when we read of the finishing of the mystery of 
God, to ask what that mystery is, and in what its finishing 
consists. 

The Mystery of God. — A few direct testimonies from that 
Book which has been given as a lamp to our feet, will show 
what this mystery is. Eph. 1 : 9, 10 : " Having made known 
unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure 
which he hath purposed in himself : that in the dispensation of 



494 



THE REVELATION. 



the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things 
in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth: 
even in him." Here God's purpose to gather together all in 
Christ is called the "mystery" of his will. This is accom- 
plished through the gospel. Eph. 6 : 19 : kk And for me [Paul 
asks that prayers be made], that utterance may be given unto 
me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the 
mystery of the gospel." Here the gospel is declared plainly 
to be a mystery. It is called in Col. 4:3, the mystery of 
Christ. Eph. 3:3, 6: "How that by revelation he made 
known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore in few words i," 
etc., "that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the 
same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the 
gospel." Paul here declares that the mystery was made 
. known to him by revelation, as he had before written. In this 
he refers to his Epistle to the Galatians, where he recorded 
what had been given him " by revelation, " in these words: 
"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was 
preached of me is not after man: for I neither received it of 
man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation, of Jesus 
Christ." Gal. 1:11, 12. Here Paul tells us plainly that 
what he received through revelation was the gospel. In Eph. 
3 : 3, he calls it the mystery made known to him by revelation, 
as he had written before. The Epistle to the Galatians was 
written in a. d. 58, and that to the Ephesians in a. d. 64. 

In view of these testimonies, few will be disposed to deny 
that the mystery of God is the gospel. It is the same, then, as 
if the angel had declared, In the days of the voice of the 
seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the gospel shall 
be finished. But what is the finishing of the gospel \ Let us 
first inquire for what it was given. It was given to take out 
from the nations a people for God's name. Acts 15 : 14. Its 
finishing must, as a matter of course, be the close of this work. 
It will be finished when the number of God's people is made 
up, mercy ceases to be offered, and probation closes. 

The subject is now before us in all its magnitude. Such is 
the momentous work to be accomplished in the early days of 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 8-10. 



495 



the voice of the seventh angel, whose trumpet notes have been 
reverberating through the world since the memorable epoch of 
1844. God is not slack; his work is not uncertain; are we 
ready for the issue ? 

Verse 8. And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me 
again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of 
the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9. And I 
went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And 
he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up ; and it shall make thy belly 
bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10. And I took the 
little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up ; and it was in my 
mouth sweet as honey : and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 

In verse 8, John himself is brought in to act a part as a 
representative of the church, probably on account of the suc- 
ceeding peculiar experience of the church, which the Lord of 
the prophecy would cause to be put on record, but which could 
not well be presented under the symbol of an angel. When 
only a straightforward proclamation is brought to view, with- 
out including the peculiar experience which the church is to 
pass through in connection therewith, angels may be used as 
symbols to represent the religious teachers who proclaim that 
message, as in Revelation 14; but when some particular expe- 
rience of the church is to be presented, the case is manifestly 
different. This could most appropriately be set forth in the 
person of some member of the human family; hence John is 
himself called upon to act a part in this symbolic representa- 
tion. And this being the case, the angel who here appeared to 
John may represent that divine messenger, who, in the order 
which is observed in all the work of God, has charge of this 
message; or he may be introduced for the purpose of repre- 
senting the nature of the message, and the source from which 
it comes. 

There are not a few now living who have in their own expe- 
rience met a striking fulfilment of these verses, in the joy with 
which they received the message of Christ's immediate second 
coming, the honey-like sweetness of the precious truths then 
brought out, and the sadness and pain that followed, when at 
the appointed time in 1844 the Lord did not come, but a great 



496 



THE REVELATION. 



disappointment did. A mistake had been made which apparently 
involved the integrity of the little book they had been eating. 
What had been so like honey to their taste, suddenly became 
like wormwood and gall. But those who had patience to en- 
dure, so to speak, the digesting process, soon learned that the 
mistake was only in the event, not in the time, and that what 
the angel had given them was not unto death, but to their nour- 
ishment and support. ( See the same facts brought to view 
under a similar figure in Jer. 15 : 16-18.) 

Verse 11. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before 
many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. 

John, standing as the representative of the church, here re- 
ceives from the angel another commission. Another message 
is to go forth after the time when the first and second messages, 
as leading proclamations, ceased. In other words, we have here 
a prophecy of the third angel's message, now, as we believe, in 
process of fulfilment. Neither will this work be done in a 
corner; for it is to go before "many peoples, and nations, and 
tongues, and kings." (See on chapter 14.) 



Verse 1. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod : and the 
angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, 
and them that worship therein. 2. But the court which is without the 
temple leave out, and measure it not ; for it is given unto the Gentiles; 
and the holy city shall they tread underfoot forty and two months. 

E here have a continuation of the instruction which 
the angel commenced giving to John in the preced- 
ing chapter; hence these verses properly belong to 
that chapter, and should not be separated by the present divi- 
sion. In the last verse of chapter 10, the angel gave to John, 
as a representative of the church, a new commission. In other 
words, as already shown, we have in that verse a prophecy of 
the third angel's message. Now follows testimony showing 
what the nature of that message is to be. It is connected with 
the temple of God in heaven, and is designed to fit up a class 
of people as worshipers therein. The temple here cannot mean 
the church; for the church is brought to view in connection 
with this temple as "them that worship therein." The temple 
is therefore the literal temple in heaven, and the worshipers 
the true church on earth. But of course these worshipers are 
not to be measured in the sense of ascertaining the hight and 
circumference of each one in feet and inches; they are to be 
measured as worshipers/ and character can be measured only 
by some standard of right, namely, a law, or rule of action. 
We are thus brought to the conclusion that the ten command- 

82 [497] 




•198 



THE REVELATION. 



ments, the standard which God has given by which to measure 
" the whole duty of man," are embraced in the measuring rod 
put by the angel into the hands of John; and in the fulfilment 
of this prophecy, this very law has been put, under the third 
message, into the hands of the church. This is the standard 
by which the worshipers of God are now to be tested. 

Having seen what it is to measure those who worship in 
the temple, we inquire further, What is meant by measuring 
the temple ? To measure any object requires that we give 
especial attention to that object; so, doubtless, the call to rise 
and measure the temple of God is a prophetic command to the 
church to give the subject of the temple, or sanctuary, a special 
examination. But how is this to be done with a measuring 
rod given to the church ? With the ten commandments alone 
we could not do it. When, however, we take the entire 
message, we find ourselves led by it to an examination of the 
sanctuary on high, with the commandments of God and the 
ministration of Christ connected therewith. Hence we con- 
clude that the measuring rod, taken as a whole, is the special 
message now given to the church, which embraces the great 
truths peculiar to this time, including the ten commandments. 
By this message, our attention has been called to the temple 
above, and through it the light and truth on this subject has 
come out. Thus we measure the temple and the altar, or 
the ministration connected with the temple, the work and the 
position of our great High Priest; and we measure the wor- 
shipers with that portion of the rod which relates to character, 
namely, the ten commandments. 

4 'But the court which is without the temple leave out." 
As much as to say, The attention of the church is now directed 
to the inner temple, and the service there. Matters pertaining 
to the court are of less consequence now. It is given to the 
Gentiles. That the court refers to this earth is proved thus : 
The court is the place where the victims were slain whose blood 
was to be ministered in the sanctuary. The antitypical victim 
must die in the antitypical court; and he died on Calvary in 
Judea. Having thus introduced the Gentiles, the attention of 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 1-4. 



499 



the prophet is directed to the great feature of Gentile apos- 
tasy; namely, the treading down of the holy city forty and two 
months during the period of papal supremacy. He is then 
directed to the condition of the word of God, the truth, and the 
church during that time. Thus by an easy and natural transi- 
tion, we are carried back into the past, and our attention is 
called to a new series of events. 

Verse 3. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they 
shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in 
sackcloth. 

These days are the same as the forty-two months of the 
preceding verse, and refer to the period of papal triumph. 
During this time, the witnesses are in a state of sackcloth, or 
obscurity, and God gives them power to endure and maintain 
their testimony through that dark and dismal period. But who 
or what are these witnesses ? 

Verse 4. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks 
standing before the God of the earth. 

Evident allusion is here made to Zech. 4 : 3-6, where it is 
explained that the two olive trees are taken to represent the 
word of God; and David testifies, "The entrance of thy words 
giveth light;" and, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a 
light unto my path." Written testimony is stronger than oral. 
Jesus declares of the Old Testament Scriptures, ' ' They are they 
which testify of me." In this dispensation, he says that his 
works bear witness of him. By what means do they bear 
witness of him ? Ever since those disciples who were per- 
sonally associated with him while on earth passed off the stage 
of life, his works have borne witness of him only through 
the medium of the New Testament, where alone we find 
them recorded. This gospel of the kingdom, it was once de- 
clared, shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all 
nations, etc. 

These declarations and considerations are sufficient to sus- 
tain the conclusion that the Old and New Testaments, one given 



500 



THE REVELATION. 



in one dispensation, and the other in the other, are Christ's two 
witnesses. 

Verse 5. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their 
mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he 
must in this manner be killed. 

To hurt the word of God is to oppose, corrupt, or pervert 
its testimony, and turn people away from it. Against those 
who do this work, fire proceedeth out of their mouth to devour 
them; that is, judgment of fire is denounced in that word against 
such. It declares that they will have their portion at last in the 
lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. Mai. 4:1; Rev. 
20 : 15; 22 : 18, 19; etc. 

Verse 6. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the 
days of their prophecy : and have power over waters to turn them to 
blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 

In what sense have these witnesses power to shut heaven, 
turn waters to blood, and bring plagues on the earth ? Elijah 
shut heaven that it rained not for three years and a half; but 
he did it by the word of the Lord. Moses, by the word of the 
Lord, turned the waters of Egypt to blood. And just as these 
judgments, recorded in their testimony, have been fulfilled, so 
will every threatening and judgment denounced by them against 
any people surely be accomplished. " As often as they will." 
As often as judgments are recorded on their pages to take 
place, so often they will come to pass. An instance of this 
the world is yet to experience in the infliction of the seven 
last plagues. 

Verse 7. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast 
that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and 
shall overcome them, and kill them. 8. And their dead bodies shall lie in 
the street of the great city, which spiritually is' called Sodom and Egypt, 
where also our Lord was crucified. 

" When they shall have finished their testimony," that is, 
"in sackcloth.^ The sackcloth state ended, or, as elsewhere 
expressed, the days of persecution were shortened (Matt. 24 : 
22), before the period itself expired. A "beast" in prophecy, 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 5-8. 



501 



denotes a kingdom, or power. (See Dan. 7 : 17, 23.) The 
question now arises, When did the 1260-year period of the 
witnesses close ? and did such a kingdom as described make 
war on them at the time spoken of ? If we are correct in fix- 
ing upon a. d. 538 as the time of the commencement of the 
papal supremacy, the forty-two months, being 1260 prophetic 
days, or years, would bring us down to a. d. 1798. About 
this time, then, did such a kingdom as described appear, and 
make war on them, etc. ? Mark ! this beast, or kingdom, is out 
of the bottomless pit; it has no foundation, is an atheistical 
power, is ''spiritually Egypt." (See Ex. 5:2: " And Pha- 
raoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let 
Israel go ? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. ") 
Here is atheism. Did any kingdom, about 1798, manifest the 
same spirit? — Yes, France; in her national capacity she denied 
the being of God, and made war on the ' 'Monarchy of heaven. ' ' 

6 1 Spiritually, ' ' this power ' ' is called Sodom. ' ' What was 
the characteristic sin of Sodom ? — Licentiousness. Did France 
have this character? — She did; fornication was established by 
law during the period spoken of. ' ' Spiritually, ' ' the place was 
"where our Lord was crucified. " Was this true in France ? — 
It was, in more senses than one. A plot was laid in France to 
destroy all the pious Huguenots; and in one night (Aug. 24, 25, 
1572) fifty thousand of them were murdered in cold blood, and 
the streets of Paris literally ran with blood. Thus our Lord 
was ' ' spiritually crucified ' ' in his members. Again, the watch- 
word and motto of the French infidels was, " CKUSH THE 
WEETCH," meaning Christ. Thus it may be truly said, 
"where our Lord was crucified." The very spirit of the 
"bottomless pit" was poured out in that wicked nation. 

But did France " make war " on the Bible? — She did; and 
in 1793 a decree passed the French Assembly forbidding the 
Bible; and under that decree, the Bibles were gathered and 
burned, every possible mark of contempt was heaped upon 
them, and all the institutions of the Bible were abolished; the 
weekly rest-day was blotted out, and every tenth day substi- 
tuted, for mirth and profanity. Baptism and the communion 



502 



THE REVELATION. 



were abolished. The being of God was denied, and death pro- 
nounced an eternal sleep. The Goddess of Reason, in the 
person of a vile woman, was set up, and publicly worshiped. 
Surely, here is a power that exactly answers the prophecy. 
But let us examine this point still further. 

Verse 9. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and na- 
tions shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suf- 
fer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 

The language of this verse describes the feelings of other 
nations besides the one committing the outrage on the wit- 
nesses. They would see what war infidel France had made on 
the Bible, but would not be led nationally to engage in the 
wicked work, nor suffer the murdered witnesses to be buried, 
or put out of sight among themselves, though they lay dead 
three days and a half, that is, three years and a half, in France. 
No; this very attempt on the part of France served to arouse 
Christians everywhere to. put forth new exertions in behalf of 
the Bible, as we shall presently see. 

Verse 10. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over 
them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because 
these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 

This denotes the joy those felt who hated the Bible, or were 
tormented by it. Great was the joy of infidels everywhere for 
awhile. But the u triumphing of the wicked is short;" so was 
it in France, for their war on the Bible and Christianity 
well-nigh swallowed them all up. They set out to destroy 
Christ's " two witnesses," but they filled France with blood 
and terror, so that they were horror-struck at the result of their 
own wicked deeds, and were soon glad to remove their impious 
hands from the Bible. 

Verse 11. And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from 
God entered into them, and the}' stood upon their feet; and great fear 
fell upon them which saw them. 

In 1793, a decree passed the French Assembly suppressing 
the Bible. Just three years after, a resolution was introduced 
into the Assembly superseding the decree, and giving toleration 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 9-12. 



503 



to the Scriptures. That resolution lay on the table six months, 
when it was taken up, and passed without a dissenting vote. 
Thus, in just three years and a half, the witnesses 6i stood upon 
their feet, and great fear fell upon them that saw them." 
Nothing but the appalling results of the rejection of the Bible, 
could have induced France to take her hands off these witnesses. 

Verse 12. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto 
them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud ; and 
their enemies beheld them. 

"Ascended up to Heaven." — To understand this expres- 
sion, see Dan. 4 : 22 : u Thy greatness is grown, and reacheth 
unto heaven." Here we see that the expression signifies great 
exaltation. Have the Scriptures attained to such a state of 
exaltation as here indicated, since France made war upon 
them ? — They have. Shortly after, the British Bible Society 
was organized (1804); then followed the American Bible So- 
ciety (1817); and these, with their almost innumerable auxili- 
aries, are scattering the Bible everywhere. Since that period, 
the Bible has been translated into nearly two hundred different 
languages that it was never in before; and the improvements 
in paper-making and printing within the last seventy-five years 
have given an impetus to the work of scattering Bibles, which 
is without a parallel. 

The Bible has been sent to the destitute, literally by ship- 
loads. One vessel carried out from England fifty-nine tons of 
Bibles for the emancipated slaves in the West Indies. The 
Bible has risen to be respected by almost every one, whether 
saint or sinner. Within the present century, translations of 
the Scriptures have increased fivefold, and the circulation of 
the Scriptures thirty fold. 1 No other book approaches it in 
cheapness or number of copies sold. According to the Mis- 
sionary Review of September, 1896, it has been translated 
into languages embracing nine tenths of the human race. 
And the American Bible Society, in its eightieth annual re- 
port, dated May, 1896, gives the number of Bibles and parts 

i Increase of Crime, by D. T. Taylor, p. 5. 



504 



THE REVELATION. 



of Bibles issued by that society alone, as 61,705,841. Add 
the issues by the British Bible Society and other publishers, 
and how vastly would the number be increased ! What other 
book has the world ever seen which approaches the Bible in 
this respect? It is exalted as above all price, as, next to his 
Son, the most invaluable blessing of God to man, and as the 
glorious testimony concerning that Son. Yes; the Scriptures 
may truly be said to be exalted "to heaven in a cloud,' 1 a 
cloud being an emblem of heavenly elevation. 

Verse 13. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the 
tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven 
thousand : and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God 
of heaven. 

What city ? ( See chapter 17:18: < ' And the woman which 
thou sawest is that great city which reign eth over the kings 
[kingdoms] of the earth.") That city is the papal Roman 
power. France is one of the "ten horns" that gave "their 
power and strength unto the [papal] beast; " or is one of the 
ten kingdoms that arose out of the Western empire of Rome, 
as indicated by the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image, the 
ten horns of Daniel's beast (Dan. 7 : 24), and John's dragon. 
Rev. 12 : 3. France, then, was "a tenth part of the city," 
and was one of the strongest ministers of papal vengeance; but 
in this revolution it "fell," and with it fell the last civil mes- 
senger of papal fury. "And in the earthquake were slain of 
men [margin, names of men, or titles of men] seven thou- 
sand." France made war, in her revolution of 1793-98 and 
onward, on all titles of nobility. It is said by those who have 
examined the French records, that just seven thousand titles of 
men were abolished in that revolution. "And the remnant 
were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven." Their 
God-dishonoring and Heaven-defying work filled France with 
such scenes of blood, carnage, and horror, as made even the 
infidels themselves tremble, and stand aghast; and the "rem- 
nant" that escaped the horrors of that hour "gave glory to 
God" — not willingly, but the God of heaven caused this 
"wrath of man to praise him," by causing all the world to see 



ft 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 13-17. 



505 



that those who make war on heaven make graves for them- 
selves; thus glory redounded to God by the very means that 
wicked men employed to tarnish that glory. 

For the statistics and many of the foregoing thoughts on 
the two witnesses, we are indebted to an exposition of the sub- 
ject of The Two Witnesses, by the late George Storrs. 

Verse 14. The second woe is past ; and, behold, the third woe cometh 
quickly. 

The series of seven trumpets is here again resumed. The 
second woe ended with the sixth trumpet, Aug. 11, 1840; and 
the third woe occurs under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, 
which commenced in 1844:. 

Then where are we? " Behold ! ' ' that is to say, mark it 
well, "the third woe cometh quickly." The fearful scenes of 
the second woe are past, and we are now under the sounding 
of the trumpet that brings the third and last woe. And shall 
we now look for peace and safety, a temporal millennium, 
a thousand years of righteousness and prosperity ? Rather let 
us earnestly pray the Lord to awaken a slumbering world. 

Verse 15. And the seventh angel sounded ; and there were great 
voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the 
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and he shall reign forever and 
ever. 16. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their 
seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, 17. Saying, We give thee 
thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come ; 
because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 

From the 15th verse to the end of the chapter, we seem to 
be carried over the ground, from the sounding of the seventh 
angel to the end, three distinct times. In the verses last 
quoted, the prophet glances forward to the full establishment 
of the kingdom of God. Although the seventh trumpet has 
begun to sound, it may not yet be a fact that the great voices 
in heaven have proclaimed that the kingdoms of this world 
are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, ex- 
cept it be in anticipation of the speedy accomplishment of this 
event ; but the seventh trumpet, like the preceding six, covers a 
period of time; and the transfer of the kingdoms from earthly 



506 



THE REVELATION. 



powers to Him whose right it is to reign, is the principal event 
to occur in the early years of its sounding; hence this event, to 
the exclusion of all else, here engages the mind of the prophet. 
(See remarks on verse 19.) In the next verse John goes back 
and takes up intervening events as follows : — 

Verse 18. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and 
the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest 
give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them 
that fear thy name, small and great : and shouldest destroy them which 
destroy the earth. 

" The Nations Were Angry. " — Commencing with the won- 
derful revolution in Europe in 1848, that spontaneous outburst 
of violence among the nations, their anger toward one another, 
their jealousy and envy, have been constantly increasing. Al- 
most every paper shows the fearful degree to which they are 
now excited, and how tense has become the strain on the 
relations between them. 

"And Thy Wrath Is Come."— The wrath of God for the 
present generation is filled up in the seven last plagues (chapter 
15 : 1), which consequently must here be referred to, and which 
are soon to be poured out upon the earth. 

The Judgment of the Dead. — " And the time of the dead, 
that they should be judged." The great majority of the dead, 
that is, the wicked, are still in their graves after the visitation 
of the plagues, and the close of this dispensation. A work of 
judgment, of allotting to each one the punishment due to his 
crimes, is carried on in reference to them by the saints, in con- 
junction with Christ, during the one thousand years following 
the first resurrection. 1 Cor. 6:2; Rev. 20 : 4. Inasmuch as 
this judgment of the dead follows the wrath of God, or the 
seven last plagues, it would seem necessary to refer it to the 
one thousand years of judgment upon the wicked, above 
mentioned; for the investigative Judgment takes place before 
the plagues are poured out. 

The Reward of the Righteous. — " And that thou shouldest 
give reward unto thy servants the prophets. * * This carries us 
forward to the full possession of the heavenly inheritance at 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 18, 19. 



507 



the end of the thousand years; for the full reward of the saints 
is not reached till they enter upon the possession of the new 
earth. Matt. 25 : 34. 

The Punishment of the Wicked. — "And shouldest destroy 
them which destroy the earth, ' ' referring to the time when all 
the wicked will be forever devoured by those purifying fires 
which come down from God out of heaven upon them, and 
which melt and renovate the earth. 2 Peter 3:7; Rev. 20 : 9. 
By this we learn that the seventh trumpet reaches over to the 
end of the one thousand years. Momentous, startling, but yet 
joyous thought ! that the trumpet is now sounding which is to 
see the final destruction of the wicked, and to behold the saints, 
clothed in a glorious immortality, safely located on the earth 
made new. 

Once more the prophet carries us back to the commencement 
of the trumpet, in the following language : — 

Terse 19. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there 
was seen in his temple the ark of his testament : and there were light- 
nings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. 

Having introduced the seventh trumpet in verse 15, the 
first great event that strikes the mind of the seer is the trans- 
fer of the kingdom from earthly to heavenly rule. God takes 
to him his great power, and forever crushes the rebellion of this 
revolted earth, establishes Christ upon his own throne, and re- 
mains himself supreme over all. This picture being completed, 
we are pointed back, in verse 18, to the state of the nations, 
the judgment to fall upon them, and the final destiny of both 
saints and sinners. This field of vision having been scanned, 
we are taken back once more in the verse now under notice, and 
our attention is called to the close of the priesthood of Christ, 
the last scene in the work of mercy for a guilty world. The 
temple is opened; the second apartment of the sanctuary is en- 
tered. We know it is the holy of holies that is here opened; 
for the ark is seen; and in that apartment alone the ark was 
deposited. This took place at the end of the 2300 days, when 
the sanctuary was to be cleansed, the time when the prophetic 



508 



THE REVELATION. 



periods expired, and the seventh angel commenced to sound. 
Since that time, the people of God have seen by faith the open 
door in heaven, and the ark of God's testament there. They 
are endeavoring to keep every precept of the holy law written 
upon the tables therein deposited. And that the tables of the 
law are there, just as in the ark in the sanctuary erected by 
Moses, is evident from the terms which John uses in describing 
the ark. He calls it the "ark of his testament." The ark 
was called the ark of the covenant, or testament, because it 
was made for the express purpose of containing the tables of 
the testimony, or ten commandments. Ex. 25:16; 31:18; 
Deut. 10 : 2, 5. It was put to no other use, and owed its name 
solely to the fact that it contained the tables of the law. If 
the tables were not therein, it would not be the ark of his 
( God's) testament, and could not truthfully be so called. Yet 
John, beholding the ark in heaven under the sounding of the 
seventh trumpet, still calls it the "ark of his testament," af- 
fording unanswerable proof that the law is still. there, unaltered 
in one jot or tittle from the copy which for a time was com- 
mitted to the care of men in the typical ark of the tabernacle 
during the Mosaic dispensation. 

The followers of the prophetic word have also received the 
reed, and are measuring the temple, the altar, and them that 
worship therein. Verse 1. They are uttering their last proph- 
ecy before nations, peoples, and tongues. Chapter 10 : 11. 
And the drama will soon close with the lightnings, thunder- 
ings,- voices, the earthquake, and great hail, which will consti- 
tute nature's last convulsion before all things are made new 
at the close of the thousand years. Rev. 21:5. ( See on 
chapter 16 : 17-21.) 




THE GOSPEL CHURCH. 

Rev. 12:1. 



Verse 1. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven ; a woman 
clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head 
a crown of twelve stars : 2. And she being with child cried, travailing in 
birth, and pained to be delivered. 3. And there appeared another won- 
der in heaven ; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and 
ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 

jN elucidation of this portion of the chapter will involve 
"flfeE little more than a mere definition of the symbols intro- 
§^-> duced. This may be given in few words, as follows : — 
u A woman," the true church. A corrupt woman is used 
to represent an apostate or corrupt church. Eze. 23 : 2-4; 
Rev. 17 : 3-6, 15, 18. By parity of reasoning, a pure woman, 
as in this instance, would represent the true church. 

< 1 The sun, ' ' the light and glory of the gospel dispensation. 
"The moon," the Mosaic dispensation. As the moon 
shines with a borrowed light derived from the sun, so the 
former dispensation shone with a light borrowed from the pres- 
ent. There they had the type and shadow; here we have the 
antitype and substance. 

t£ A crown of twelve stars," the twelve apostles. 
"A great red dragon," pagan Rome. (See under verses 
4 and 5.) 

"Heaven," the space in which this representation was seen 
by the apostle. We are not to suppose that the scenes here 
represented to John took place in heaven where God resides; 

[509] 




510 



THE REVELATION. 



for they are events which transpired upon this earth; but this 
scenic representation which passed before the eye of the prophet, 
appeared as if in the region occupied by the sun, moon, and 
stars, which we speak of as heaven. 

Verses 1 and 2 cover a period of time commencing just 
previous to the opening of the present dispensation, when the 
church was earnestly longing for and expecting the advent of 
the Messiah, and extending to the time of the full establishment 
of the gospel church with its crown of twelve apostles. Luke 
2 : 25, 26, 38. 

No symbols more fitting and impressive could be found 
than are here employed. The Mosaic dispensation shone with 
a light borrowed from the Christian dispensation, just as the 
moon shines with light borrowed from the sun. How appro- 
priate, therefore, to represent the former by the moon, and the 
latter by the sun. The woman, the church, had the moon 
under her feet; that is, the Mosaic dispensation had just ended, 
and the woman was clothed with the light of the gospel sun, 
which had just risen. By the figure of prolepsis, the church is 
represented as fully organized, with its twelve apostles, before 
the man child, Christ, appeared upon the scene. This is easily 
accounted for by the fact that it was to be thus constituted 
immediately after Christ should commence his ministry; and 
he is more especially connected with this church than with that 
of the former dispensation. There is no ground for any mis- 
understanding of the passage; and hence no violence is done to 
a correct system of intepretation by this representation. 

Verse 4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, 
and did cast them to the earth; and the dragon stood before the woman 
which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was 
born. 5. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations 
with a rod of iron : and her child was caught up unto God, and to his 
throne. 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a 
place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two 
hundred and threescore days. 

" The Third Part of the Stars of Heaven." — The dragon 
drew the third part of the stars from heaven. If the twelve 
stars with which the woman is crowned, here used symbolically, 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 1-6. 



511 



denote the twelve apostles, then the stars thrown down by the 
dragon before his attempt to destroy the man child, or before 
the Christian era, may denote a portion of the rulers of the 
Jewish people. That the sun, moon, and stars are sometimes 
used in this symbolic sense, we have already had evidence in 
chapter 8 : 12. The dragon being a symbol, conld deal only 
with symbolic stars; and the chronology of the act here men- 
tioned would confine it to the Jewish people. Judea became 
a Roman province sixty-three years before the birth of the 
Messiah. The Jews had three classes of rulers, — kings, 
priests, and the Sanhedrim. A third of these, the kings, 
were taken away by the Roman power. Philip Smith, History 
of the World. Vol. Ill, p. 181, after describing the siege of 
Jerusalem by the Romans and Herod, and its capitulation in 
the spring of b. c. 37, after an obstinate resistance of six 
months, says : ' ' Such was the end of the Asmonean dynasty, 
exactly 130 years after the first victories of Judas Maccabseus, 
and in the seventieth year from the assumption of the diadem 
by Aristobulus I." 

The dragon stood before the woman, to devour her child. 
It now becomes necessary to identify the power symbolized by 
the dragon; and this can very easily be done. The testimony 
concerning the ' ' man child ' ' which the dragon seeks to de- 
stroy, is applicable to only one being that has appeared in this 
world, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ. No other one has 
been caught up to God and his throne; but he has been thus 
exalted. Eph. 1 : 20, 21; Heb. 8:1; Rev. 3 : 21. No other 
one has received from God the commission to rule all nations 
with a rod of iron; but he has been appointed to this work. 
Ps. 2 : 7-9. 

There can certainly be no doubt that the man child repre- 
sents Jesus Christ. The time to which the prophecy refers is 
equally evident. It was the time when Christ appeared in this 
world as a babe in Bethlehem. 

Having now ascertained who the man child was, namely, 
Christ ; and having fixed the chronology of the prophecy at the 
time when he was born into this world, it will be easy to find 



512 



THE REVELATION. 



the power symbolized by the dragon; for the dragon represents 
some power which did attempt to destroy him at his birth. 
Was any such attempt made ? and who made it ? No formal 
answer to this question need be given to any one who has read 
how Herod, in a fiendish effort to destroy the infant Jesus, 
sent forth and slew all the children in Bethlehem, from two 
years old and under. But who was Herod ? — A Roman gov- 
ernor. From Rome, Herod derived his power. Rome ruled 
at that time over all the world (Luke 2:1), and was therefore 
the responsible party in this transaction. Moreover, Rome 
was the only earthly government which at that time could be 
symbolized in prophecy, for this very reason that its dominion 
was universal. It is not, therefore, without the most conclu- 
sive reason that the Roman empire is considered by Protestant 
commentators generally to be the power indicated by the great 
red dragon. And it may be a fact worth mentioning that 
during the second, third, fourth, and fifth centuries of the 
Christian era, next to the eagle the dragon was the principal 
standard of the Roman legions; and that dragon was painted 
red, as though, in faithful response to the picture held up by 
the seer of Patmos, they would exclaim to the world, We are 
the nation which that picture represents. 

As we have said, Rome, in the person of Herod, attempted 
to destroy Jesus Christ when he sent forth and destroyed all 
the children of Bethlehem from two years old and under. The 
child which was born to the expectant desires of a waiting and 
watching church, was our adorable Redeemer, who is soon to 
rule the nations with a rod of iron. Herod could not destroy 
him; the combined powers of earth and hell could not over- 
come him; and though held for a time under the dominion of 
the grave, he rent its cruel bands, opened a way of life for man- 
kind, and was caught up to God and his throne, or ascended 
up to heaven in the sight of his disciples, leaving to them, by 
the words of the angels, this sweetest of all his promises, that 
like as he was taken away from them, so he would come again. 

And the church fled into the wilderness at the time the 
papacy was established, in 538, where it was nourished by the 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 7-12. 



513 



word of God and the ministration of angels during the long, 
dark, and bloody rule of that power, 1260 years. 

Verse 7. And there was war in heaven : Michael and his angels 
fought against the dragon ; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8. 
And prevailed not ; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 
9. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, 
and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world : he was cast out into the 
earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10. And I heard a loud 
voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the 
kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ : for the accuser of our 
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 
11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word 
of their testimony ; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12. 
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the 
inhabiters of the earth and of the sea ! for the devil is come down unto 
3 t ou, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a 
short time. 

The first six verses of this chapter, as has been seen, take 
us down to the close of the 1260 years, which marked the end 
of the papal supremacy in 1798. In the 7th verse it is equally 
plain that we are carried back into previous ages. How 
far? — To the time first introduced in the chapter,— the days of 
the first advent. "And there was war in heaven," the same 
heaven where the woman and the dragon were seen at first; 
but they were actors in scenes that took place here upon the 
earth; hence we understand this war to be located in the same 
place. And to what point are we carried back? — Evidently to 
the commencement of Christ's ministry here upon earth. To 
prove that Michael is Christ, see Jude 9; 1 Thess. 4: 16; John 
5:28, 29; and that this was a special time of warfare between 
him and Satan need not be argued. 

Another symbol is here introduced, and John hastens to tell 
us what this symbol represents. It is the Devil and Satan. But 
this is not the same as the dragon of verses 3 and 4. That was 
a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten 'horns, and seven 
crowns upon his heads. It would be most grotesque to try to 
apply this to Satan personally. Satan is not said anywhere in 
the Bible to be red, and he is not blessed with the number of 
heads and horns there stated ; and while he might, as the god 
33 



514 



THE REVELATION. 



of this world, have one crown, how would he manage to wear 
seven ? But all these features are very appropriate as applied 
to pagan Rome. 

When it is desired to set forth Satan by a symbol, no more 
appropriate one can be chosen than a great dragon, or serpent, 
unqualified. And why a similar symbol is also employed to 
represent Rome with some of its peculiar features is evident. 
It was because Rome, as a universal empire, was then the only 
possible general agent to carry out Satan's will in the earth. 
But there is no occasion to confound the two symbols. 

In reference to the war mentioned, Satan had looked forward 
to Christ's mission to this earth as his last chance of success in 
overthrowing the plan of salvation. He came to Christ with 
specious temptations, in hope of overcoming him; he tried in 
various ways to destroy him during his ministry; and when he 
had succeeded in laying him in the tomb, he endeavored, in 
malignant triumph, to hold him there. But in every encounter 
the Son of God came off triumphant; and he sends back this 
gracious promise to his faithful followers : "To him that over- 
corn eth will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as / 
also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." 
This shows us that Jesus while on earth waged a warfare, and 
obtained the victory. Satan saw his last effort fail, his last 
scheme miscarry. He had boasted that he would overcome the 
Son of God in his mission to this world, and thus render the 
plan of salvation an ignominious failure; and well he knew 
that if he was foiled in this his last desperate effort to thwart 
the work of God, his last hope had perished, and all was lost. 
(See Spiritual Gifts, Vol. I, p. 67.) 

But, in the language of verse 8, he "prevailed not;" and 
hence the song may well be sung, "Therefore rejoice, ye 
heavens, and ye that dwell in them." 

It is held by some that this war took place when Satan, 
then an angel of light and glory, rebelled in heaven; and that 
the "casting out" of which John speaks, was his expulsion 
from heaven at that time. But we are unable to harmonize 
this view with the testimony before us. Thus, in verse 13 we 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 7-12. 



515 



read : ' ' And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the 
earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man 
child.'' This shows that just as soon as the Devil saw that he 
was cast out, he turned his wrath against the woman, the 
church, which, not far from that time, fled into the wilderness. 
When Satan therefore found himself thus overthrown, the man 
child had already been brought forth, or, in other words, the 
first advent of Christ had taken place. Hence this war and 
defeat of Satan, taking place this side of the Christian era, and 
not a great length of time before the church went into the 
wilderness in 538, cannot be his fall from heaven before the 
creation of the world ; though that was a war in heaven. 

Again, there seem to be a number of instances in which . 
Satan is spoken of as defeated, or cast down. One was his 
first rejection from heaven; another, when Christ overcame him 
at his first advent; and there will be another in the future, 
when he is cast into the bottomless pit, and shut up for a thou- 
sand years. And on each successive occasion, we behold a 
regularly increasing limitation of his power. He falls a degree 
lower in every succeeding combat. The first time, as we may 
plainly infer from certain scriptures, the contest was between 
him and God the Father ( see 2 Peter 2:4); the second time 
between him and Christ the Son, as in the scripture before us; 
while the third time an angel suffices to accomplish the work of 
his humiliation. Rev. 20 : 1, 2. Since his first contest, he has 
not been permitted to rise to the dignity of contending with 
the Father; since the second, he has not had the privilege, if 
such it may be called, of a personal encounter with the Son. 
The war mentioned in the scripture now before us is between 
the Devil and Michael, Christ. The great effort of the former 
against the latter, personally, was during his mission here on 
earth; and Christ's great personal victory over him was in that 
very contest. 

"Neither was their place found any more in heaven." 
Heaven, we have seen, does not mean, in this chapter, the 
place which is the abode of God and his celestial messengers. 
It here doubtless denotes condition rather than place ; and 



516 



THE REVELATION. 



the expression would then signify that they were here humili- 
ated, and never to regain their former position. They had 
suffered a terrible defeat, which Christ describes by saying, 
"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." The hope 
which he had all along cherished, of overcoming the Son of 
man when he took upon himself our nature, had forever per- 
ished. His power was limited. He could no more aspire to 
a personal encounter with the Son of God, — a fact which 
hitherto had given, in a comparative degree, dignity and pres- 
tige to his position. Henceforth the church (the woman) is the 
object of his malice, and he resorts to all those nefarious means 
against her that would naturally characterize a baffled and hope- 
less rage. (See Spiritual Gifts, Yol. I, p. 79.) 

But hereupon a song is sung in heaven, "Now is come 
salvation," etc. How is this, if these scenes are in the past ? 
Had salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of God, and the 
power of his Christ, then come ? Not at all ; but this song 
was sung prospectively. These things were made sure. The 
great victory had been won by Christ which put the question 
of their establishment forever at rest. Just as we read in other 
scriptures, ''We have eternal life," "We have redemption 
through his blood," etc., as though we were now in actual 
possession of these blessings; whereas we only have them by 
faith, and the language is simply an assurance that they are 
forever sure to the final overcomers. 

The prophet then glances rapidly over the working of Satan 
from that time to the end (verses 11, 12), during which time the 
faithful ' ' brethren ' ' overcome him by the blood of the Lamb 
and the word of their testimony, while his wrath increases as his 
time grows short. Though working through earthly powers, 
Satan, personally, is the chief agent from verse 9 to IT. 

Verse 13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, 
he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 14. And 
to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly 
into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, 
and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15. And the 
serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he 
might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16. And the earth 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 13-17. 



517 



helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up 
the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17. And the dragon 
was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of 
her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony 
of Jesus Christ. 

But little comment is necessary on the verses last introduced. 
Suffice it to say that here we are again carried back to the time 
when Satan became fully aware that he had utterly failed in all 
his attempts against the Lord of glory in his earthly mission; 
and seeing this, he turned with tenfold fury, as already noticed, 
upon the church which Christ had established. Then we have 
again brought to view the church going into that condition here 
denominated being 6 ' in the. wilderness. " This must denote a 
state of seclusion from the public gaze, and of concealment 
from her foes. That church which during all the dark ages 
trumpeted her lordly commands into the ears of listening Chris- 
tendom, and flaunted her ostentatious banners before gaping 
crowds, was not the church of Christ; it was the body of the 
mystery of iniquity. The u mystery of godliness" was God 
manifested here as a man; the "mystery of iniquity " was a man 
pretending to be God. This was the great apostasy, the mon- 
grel produced by the union of heathenism and Christianity. 
The true church was out of sight; in secret places they wor- 
shiped God; the caves and the hidden recesses of the valleys of 
the Piedmont may be taken as representative places, where the 
truth of the gospel was sacredly cherished from the rage of its 
foes. Here God watched over his church, and by his providence 
protected and nourished her. 

The eagles' wings given her appropriately signify the haste 
with which the true church was obliged to provide for her own 
safety when the man of sin was installed in power, together 
with the assistance God provided her to this end. The like 
figure is used to describe God's dealings with ancient Israel. 
By Moses he said to them : "Ye have seen what I did unto the 
Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought 
you unto myself." Ex. 19 : 4. 

The mention of the period during which the woman is nour- 
ished in the wilderness as " a time and times and half a time, ' ' 



518 



THE REVELATION. 



the exact phraseology used in Dan. 7 : 25, furnishes a key for 
the explanation of the latter passage; for the very same period 
is called in verse 6 of Revelation 12, " a thousand two hundred 
and threescore days." This shows that a "time " is one year, 
360 days; two "times," two years, or 720 days; and "half a 
time," half a year, or 180 days, making in all 1260 days; and 
this, being symbolic, signifies 1260 literal years. 

The serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood to carry 
away the church. By its false doctrines the papacy had so 
corrupted all nations as to have control absolutely, for long cen- 
turies, of the civil power. Through it Satan could hurl a mighty 
flood of persecution against the church in every direction; and 
this he was not slow to do. ( See reference to the terrible perse- 
cutions of the church in remarks on Dan. 7 : 25.) From fifty 
to one hundred million were carried away by the flood; but 
the church was not entirely swallowed up; the days were 
shortened for the elect's sake. Matt. 24 : 22. 

" The earth helped the woman " by opening its mouth and 
swallowing up the flood. ' The Reformation of the sixteenth 
century began its work. God raised up the noble Luther and 
his colaborers to expose the true character of the papacy, and 
break the power with which superstition had enslaved the minds 
of the people. Luther nailed his theses to the door of the church 
at Wittenberg ; and the pen with which he wrote them, according 
to the symbolic dream of the good elector Frederick of Saxony, 
did indeed span the continent, and shake the triple crown on 
the pope's head. Princes began to espouse the cause of the 
Reformers. It was the dawning of religious light and liberty, 
and God would not suffer the darkness to swallow up its radi- 
ance. Tetzel, the indulgence-peddler, swelled and bellowed 
with wrath, and Pope Leo roared with rage; but all in vain. 
The spell was broken. Men found that the bulls and anathemas 
of the pope fell harmless at their feet, just as soon as they dared 
exercise their God-given right to regulate their consciences by 
his word alone. Defenders of the true faith multiplied. And 
soon there was enough Protestant soil found in Switzerland, 
Germany, Holland, England, Norway, and Sweden, to swallow 




EMINENT REFORMERS. 

Men who have been prominent in advancing the worfc of God. 
For Biographical Sketches, see p, 741, 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 13-17. 



519 



up the flood of papal fury, and rob it of its power to harm the 
church. Thus the earth helped the woman, and has continued 
to help to the present day, as the spirit of the Reformation and 
religious liberty has been fostered by the leading nations of 
Christendom. 

But the dragon is not yet through with his work. Verse 17 
brings to view another and a final outburst of his wrath, this 
time against the last generation of Christians to live on the 
earth. We say the last generation; for the war of the dragon 
is directed against the remnant of the woman's seed; that is, 
the remnant of the seed, or individuals, that constitute the true 
church; and no generation but the last can truthfully be repre- 
sented by the remnant. If the view is correct that we have 
already reached the generation which is to witness the closing 
up of earthly scenes, this warfare against the truth cannot be 
far in the future. . 

This remnant is characterized by their keeping of the com- 
mandments of God, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ. 
This points to a Sabbath reform to be accomplished in the last 
days; for on the Sabbath alone, as pertaining to the command- 
ments, is there a difference of faith and practice among those 
who accept the decalogue as the moral law ? This is more par- 
ticularly brought to view in the message of Rev. 14 : 9-12. 

It may be proper to notice that according to the testimony 
of this chapter, three powers are made use of by the Devil to 
carry out his work, and hence are all spoken of as the dragon, 
he being the inspiring agent in them all. These are, (1) pagan 
Rome; (2) papal Rome; (3) the two-horned beast, our own 
government under the control of apostate Protestantism, which 
is the chief agent, as will hereafter appear, in making war 
upon those who keep the commandments of God, and have the 
testimony of Jesus. 




Verse 1. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast 
rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his 
horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2. And 
the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the 
feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion : and the dragon 
gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3. And I saw 
one of his heads as it were wounded to death ; and his deadly wound was 
healed : and all the world wondered after the beast. 4. And they wor- 
shiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast : and they worshiped 
the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast ? Who is able to make war 
with him? 5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great 
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue 
forty and two months. 6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy 
against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that 
dwell in heaven. 7. And it was given unto him to make war with the 
saints, and to overcome them : and power was given him over all kin- 
dreds, and tongues, and nations. 8. And all that dwell upon the earth 
shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the 
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9. If any man have an 
ear, let him hear. 10. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into cap- 
tivity : he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. 
Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 

JSj^HE sea is a symbol of u peoples, and multitudes, and 
ttJBi nations, and tongues." Rev. 17 : 15. A beast is the 
A Bible symbol of an unrighteous nation, or power, repre- 
senting sometimes the civil power alone, sometimes the eccle- 
siastical in connection with the civil. Whenever a beast is 
seen to come up out of the sea, it denotes that the power 
arises in a thickly populated territory; and if the winds are 

[520] 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 1-10. 



521 



represented as blowing upon the sea, as in Dan. 7 : 2, 3, polit- 
ical commotion, civil strife, and revolution are indicated. 

By the dragon of the previous chapter, and the beast first 
introduced in this, we have the Roman power as a whole 
brought to view in its two phases, pagan and papal; hence 
these two symbols have ^ach the seven heads and ten horns. 
(See on chapter 17 : 10.) 

The seven-headed and ten-horned beast, or, more briefly, 
the leopard beast, here introduced, symbolizes a power which 
exercises ecclesiastical as well as civil authority. This point is 
of sufficient importance to justify the introduction of a few of 
the conclusive arguments which go to prove it. 

The line of prophecy in which this symbol occurs com- 
mences with chapter 12. The symbols of earthly govern- 
ments embraced in the prophecy are, the dragon of chapter 
12, and the leopard beast and two-horned beast of chapter 13. 
The same line of prophecy evidently continues into chapter 14, 
closing with verse 5 of that chapter. Commencing, therefore, 
with verse 1 of chapter 12, and ending with verse 5 of chapter 
14, we have a line of prophecy distinct and complete in itself. 

Each of the powers here introduced is represented as fiercely 
persecuting the church of God. The scene opens with the 
church, under the symbol of a woman, anxiously longing for 
the promise to be fulfilled that the seed of the woman, the Lord 
of glory, should appear among men. The dragon stood before 
the woman for the purpose of devouring her child. His evil 
design is thwarted, and the child is caught up to God and his 
throne. A period follows in which the church suffers severe 
oppression from this dragon power. And though in this part 
of the scene the prophet occasionally glances forward, once even 
down almost to the end, because ail the enemies of the church 
were to be actuated by the spirit of the dragon, yet in verse 1 
of chapter 13 we are carried back to the time when the leop- 
ard beast, the successor of the dragon, commences his career. 
From this power, for the long period of 1260 years, the church 
suffers war and persecution. Following this period of oppres- 
sion, the church has another conflict, brief, but sharp and 



522 



THE REVELATION. 



severe, with the two-horned beast. Then comes deliverance; 
and the prophecy closes with the church brought safely through 
all her persecutions, and standing victorious with the Lamb on 
Mount Zion. Thank God for the sure promise of final victory ! 

The one character which ever appears the same in all these 
scenes, and whose history is the leading theme through all the 
prophecy, is the church of God. The other characters are her 
persecutors, and are introduced simply because they are such. 
And here, as an introductory inquiry, we raise the question, 
Who, or what is it that persecutes the true church ? — It is a 
false or apostate church. What is it that is ever' warring 
against true religion ? — It is a false and counterfeit religion. 
Who ever heard of the civil power, merely, of any nation, per- 
secuting the people of God ? Governments may war against 
other governments, to avenge some wrong, real or imaginary, 
or to acquire territory and extend their power, as nations have 
often warred against the Jews; but governments do not perse- 
cute (mark the word — do not persecute) people on account of 
their religion, unless under the control of some opposite and 
hostile system of religion. But the powers introduced in this 
prophecy, — the dragon, the leopard beast, and the two-horned 
beast, — are all persecuting powers. They are actuated by rage 
and enmity against the people and church of God. And this 
fact is of itself sufficiently conclusive evidence that in each of 
these powers the ecclesiastical or religious element is the con- 
trolling power. 

Take the dragon : what does it symbolize ? The Koman 
empire, is the undeniable answer. But this is not enough. 
No one would be satisfied with this answer and no more. It 
must be more definite. We then add, The Boman empire in 
its pagan form, to which all must also agree. But just as 
soon as we say pagan, we introduce a religious element; for 
paganism is one of the hugest systems of counterfeit religion 
that Satan ever devised. The dragon, then, is so far an eccle- 
siastical power that the very characteristic by which it is distin- 
guished is a false system of religion. And what made the 
dragon persecute the church of Christ ? — It was because 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 1-10. 



523 



Christianity was prevailing against paganism, sweeping away 
its superstitions, overturning its idols, and dismantling its tem- 
ples. The religious element of that power was touched, and 
persecution was the result. 

We now come to the leopard beast of chapter 13. What 
does that symbolize ? The answer still is, The Roman empire. 
But the dragon symbolized the Roman empire, and why does 
not the same symbol represent it still ? — Ah ! there has been a 
change in the religious character of the empire; and this beast 
symbolizes Rome in its professedly Christian form. And it is 
this change of religion, and this alone, which makes a change 
in the symbol necessary. This beast differs from the dragon 
only in that he presents a different religious aspect. Hence it 
would be altogether wrong to affirm that it denotes simply the 
Roman civil power. 

To this beast the dragon gives his seat, his power, and 
great authority. By what power was pagan Rome succeeded \ 
We all know that it was by papal Rome. It matters not to 
our present purpose when or by what means this change was 
effected; the great fact is apparent, and is acknowledged by 
all, that the next great phase of the Roman empire after its 
pagan form was its papal. It would not be correct, therefore, 
to say that pagan Rome gave its seat and power to a form of 
government merely civil, having no religious element whatever. 
ISTo stretch of the imagination can conceive of such a transac- 
tion. But two phases of empire are here recognized; and in 
the prophecy, Rome is pagan until Rome is papal. The state- 
ment that the dragon gave to the leopard beast his seat and 
power, is further evidence that the dragon of Rev. 12 : 3 is not 
a symbol of Satan personally ; for Satan has not abdicated in 
favor of any other malevolent being ; and he has not given up 
his seat to any earthly power. 

But it may be said that it takes the leopard beast and two- 
horned beast together to constitute the papacy, and hence it is 
to these that the dragon gives his power, seat, and great 
authority. But the prophecy does not say so. It is the 
leopard beast alone with which the dragon has to do. It is to 



524 



THE REVELATION. 



that beast alone that he gives his power, seat, and great 
authority. It is that beast that has a head that is wounded to 
death, which is afterward healed; that beast that the whole 
world wonders after; that beast that receives a mouth speaking 
blasphemies, and that wears out the saints for 1260 years; and 
all this before the succeeding power, the two-horned beast, 
comes upon the stage of action at all. The leopard beast 
alone, therefore, symbolizes the Roman empire in its papal 
form, the controlling influence being ecclesiastical. 

To show this more fully, we have but to draw a parallel 
between the little horn of Dan. 7 : 8, 20, 24, 25, and this 
power. From this comparison it will appear that the little 
horn referred to and the leopard beast symbolize the same 
power; but the little horn is acknowledged on all hands to be 
a symbol of the papacy. There are six points of identity, as 
-follows : — 

1. The little horn was a blasphemous power. "He shall 
speak great words against the Most High." Dan. 7:25. 
The leopard beast of Rev. 13:6 does the same. "He 
opened his mouth in blasphemy against God." 

2. The little horn made war with the saints, and prevailed 
against them. Dan. 7 : 21. This beast also (Rev. 13 : 7) 
makes war with the saints, and overcomes them. 

3. The little horn had a mouth speaking great things. 
Dan. 7:8, 20. And of this beast we read, Rev. 13 : 5 : 
' ' And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things 
and blasphemies." 

4. The little horn arose on the cessation of the pagan form 
of the Roman empire. The beast of Rev. 13 : 2 arises at the 
same time; for the dragon, pagan Rome, gives him his power, 
his seat, and great authority. 

5. Power was given to the little horn to continue for a 
time, times, and the dividing of time, or 1260 years. Dan. 
7 : 25. To this beast also power was given for forty- two 
months, or 1260 years. Rev. 13 : 5. 

6. At the end of that specified period, the dominion of the 
little horn was to be taken away. Dan. 7 : 26. At the end of 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 1-10. 



525 



the same period, the leopard beast was himself to be ' 1 led into 
captivity." Rev. 13 : 10. Both these specifications were ful- 
filled in the captivity and exile of the pope, and the temporary 
overthrow of the papacy by France in 1798. 

Here are points that prove identity; for when we have in 
prophecy two symbols, as in this instance, representing powers 
that come upon the stage" of action at the same time, occupy 
the same territory, maintain the same character, do the same 
ivork, exist the same length of time, and meet the same fate, 
those symbols represent the same identical power. 

Now all the particulars above specified do apply alike to the 
little horn, and the leopard beast of chapter 13, showing that 
these two symbols represent the same power. It is admitted 
on all hands that the little horn represents the papacy ; and he 
who claims that this leopard beast does not represent the 
same, must, to be consistent, show that at the same time 
that the papacy arose, there arose another great power exactly 
like it, occupying the same territory, bearing the same charac- 
ter, doing the same work, continuing the same length of time, 
and meeting the same fate, and yet a separate and distinct 
power; which would be as absurd as it would be impossible. 

The head that was wounded to death was the papal head. 
We are held to this conclusion by the very obvious principle 
that whatever is spoken in prophecy »of the symbol of any 
government, applies to that government only while it is rep- 
resented by that symbol. Now Rome is represented by two 
symbols, the dragon 'and the leopard beast, because it has 
presented two phases, the pagan and the papal; and whatever 
is said of the dragon applies to Rome only in its pagan form, 
and whatever is said of the leopard beast applies to Rome 
only in its professedly Christian form. But Rome was pagan 
in John's day, who lived under the sixth or imperial head. 
This shows us at once that six of the heads, including the 
imperial, belong to the dragon; and if it was any one of these 
heads which was wounded to death, then it was one of the 
heads of the dragon, or one of the forms of government that 
belonged to Rome in its pagan form, and not one of the heads 



526 



THE REVELATION. 



of the beast; and John should have said, I saw one of the 
heads of the dragon wounded to death. But he says that it 
was one of the heads of the beast that was wounded to death. 
In other words, this wound fell upon some form of government 
that existed in the Roman empire after its change, from pagan- 
ism to Christianity. But after this change, there was but one 
head, and that was the papal. 1 Thus it is placed beyond 
controversy that it was none other than the papal head that 
was wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed. 
This wounding is the same as the going into captivity. Rev. 
13 : 10. It was inflicted when the pope was taken prisoner by 
Berthier, the French general, and the papal government was 
for a time abolished, in 1798. Stripped of his power, both 
civil and ecclesiastical, the captive pope, Pius VI, died in 
exile at Yalence in France, Aug. 29, 1799. But the deadly 
wound was healed when the papacy was re-established, though 
with a diminution of its former power, by the election of a new 
pope, March 14, 1800. ( See Bower's History of the Popes, 
pp. 404-428; Croly on the Apocalypse, London edition, 
p. 251.) 

This beast opens his mouth in blasphemy against God to 
blaspheme his name. ( See mention under Dan. 7 : 25 of the 
presumptuous titles assumed by the popes.) 

He blasphemes the tabernacle in heaven by turning the at- 
tention of his subjects to his own throne and palace instead of 
to the tabernacle of God; by turning their attention away from 
the city of God, Jerusalem above, and pointing them to Rome 
as the eternal city; and he blasphemes them that dwell in 
heaven by assuming to exercise the power of forgiving sins, 
and so turning away the minds of men from the mediatorial 



i The symbol as here presented has hut seven heads, denoting seven forms 
of government, not contemporaneous but successive. Of course only one head 
is ruling at any one time ; but all are placed alike upon the dragon and beast to 
identify both these symbols as denoting the Roman power. Six heads belonged to 
the dragon ; that is, six forms of government were developed and passed away one 
after another, while the religion of Rome was pagan ; and only one remained to be 
developed after the change to Christianity, and that was the papal ; which as a 
spiritual power continues to the end (2 Thess. 2:8), and as a temporal power to the 
time when his dominion is taken away just before the end. Dan. 7 : 26. 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



527 



work of Christ and his heavenly assistants in the sanctuary 
above. 

By verse 10 we are again referred to the events of 1798, 
when that power that had for 1260 years led the saints of God 
into captivity, was led into captivity itself, as already noticed. 

Verse 11. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; 
and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12. And 
he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the 
earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose 
deadly wound was healed. 13. And he doeth great wonders, so that he 
maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 
14. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those 
miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast ; saying to 
them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the 
beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15. And he had 
power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the 
beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship 
the image of the beast should be killed. 16. And he causeth all, both 
small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their 
right hand, or in their foreheads : 17. And that no man might buy or 
sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number 
of his name. 

These verses bring to view the third great symbol in the 
line of prophecy we are examining, usually denominated the 
two-horned beast. We inquire for its application. The dragon, 
pagan Eome, and the leopard beast, papal Borne, present be- 
fore us great organizations standing as the representatives of 
two great systems of false religion. Analogy would seem to 
require that the remaining symbol, the two-horned beast, have 
a similar application, and find its fulfilment in some national- 
ity which is the representative of still another great system of 
religion. But the only remaining system which is exercising 
a controlling influence in the world to-day is Protestantism. 

Abstractly considered, paganism embraces all heathen 
lands, containing more than half the population of the globe. 
Catholicism, which may perhaps be considered as embracing 
the religion of the Greek Church, so nearly identical with it, 
belongs to nations which compose a great portion of Christen- 
dom. Mohammedanism is an effete system, which has ceased 
to be any important factor in the world's progress. Moreover, 



528 



THE REVELATION. 



it seems to have received enough prophetic attention in Daniel 
11 and Revelation 9. But Protestantism is the religion of 
nations which constitute the vanguard of the world in liberty, 
enlightenment, progress, and power. 

If, then, Protestantism is the religion to which we are to 
look, to what nationality, as the representative of that religion, 
does the prophecy have application ? There are notable Prot- 
estant nations in Europe; but for reasons which will hereafter 
appear, the symbol cannot apply to any of these. A careful 
investigation has led to the conclusion that it does apply to 
Protestant America, or the government of the United States. 
We trust the reader will now feel impatient for some of the 
reasons for such an application, and will carefully consider 
the evidence by which it is supported. 

1. Probabilities Considered. — Are there any reasons why 
we should expect that our own government would be mentioned 
in prophecy ? On what conditions have other nations found a 
place in the prophetic record ? — First, if they have acted any 
prominent part in the world's history; and secondly, and above 
all, if they have had jurisdiction over, or maintained any rela- 
tions with, the people of God. In the records of the Bible 
and of secular history, we find data from which to deduce this 
rule respecting the prophetic mention of earthly governments; 
namely, whenever the relations of God's people to any nation 
are such that a true history of the former, which is the object 
of all revelation, could not be given without a notice of the 
latter, such nation is mentioned in prophecy. And all these 
conditions are certainly fulfilled in our government. No na- 
tion has ever attracted more attention, excited more profound 
wonder, or given promise of greater eminence or influence. 
And certainly here, if anywhere on the globe, are to be found 
a strong array of Christians, such as are the salt of the earth 
and the light of the world, whose history could not be written 
without mention of that government under which they live and 
enjoy their liberty. 

And the conviction has fastened itself upon many minds 
that the hand of Providence has been conspicuously manifest in 
the rise and progress of this nation. 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



529 



Governor Pownal, an English statesman, in 1780, while 
our Revolution was in progress, predicted that this country 
would become independent, and that a civilizing activity, be- 
yond what Europe could ever know, would animate it; and 
that its commercial and naval power would be found in every 
quarter of the globe. He then speaks of the probable establish- 
ment of this country as a free and sovereign power as — 

6 ' A revolution that has stronger marks of divine interposi- 
tion superseding the ordinary course of human affairs, than 
any other event which this world has experienced." 

De Tocqueville, a French writer, speaking of the separation 
of the United States from England, says : — 

"It might seem their folly, but was really their fate; or 
rather, the providence of God, who has doubtless a work for 
them to do in which the massive materiality of the English 
character would have been too ponderous a dead-weight upon 
their progress." 

Geo. Alfred Townsend, speaking of the misfortunes that 
have attended the other governments on this continent (New 
World and Old, p. 635), says : — 

4 ' The history of the United States was separated by a 
beneficent Providence far from the wild and cruel history of 
the rest of the continent." 

Such considerations as these are calculated to arouse in 
every mind a strong expectation that this government will be 
found to have some part to act in the carrying out of God's 
providential purposes in this world, and that somewhere it will 
be spoken of in the prophetic word. 

2. The Chronology of This Power. — At what period in this 
world's history is the rise of this power placed in the prophecy ? 
On this point, the foundation for the conclusions at which we 
must arrive is already laid in the facts elicited in reference to 
the preceding or leopard beast. It was at the time when this 
beast went into captivity, or was killed ( politically ) with the 
sword (verse 10), or ( which we suppose to be the same thing) 
had one of its heads wounded to death ( verse 3 ), that John saw 
the two-horned beast coming up. If the leopard beast, as we 
have conclusively proved, signifies the papacy, and the going 
34 



530 



THE REVELATION. 



into captivity met its fulfilment in the temporary overthrow of 
the popedom by the French in 1798, then we have the time 
definitely specified when we are to look for the rise of this 
power. The expression < ' coming up 5 ' must signify that the 
power to which it applies was but newly organized, and was 
then just rising into prominence and influence. The power 
represented by this symbol must, then, be some power which 
in 1798 stood in this position before the world. 

And in what condition stood the United States of America 
at that time? Macmillan and Co., the London publishers, in 
announcing their Statesman's Year Book for 1867, make an 
interesting statement of the changes that took place among the 
leading nations of the world, during the half century between 
the years 1817 and 1867. They say : — 

"The half century has extinguished three kingdoms, one grand 
duchy, eight duchies, four principalities, one electorate, and four re- 
publics. Three new kingdoms have arisen, and one kingdom has been 
transformed into an empire. There are now forty-one states in Europe 
against fifty-nine which existed in 1817. Not less remarkable is the 
territorial extension of the superior states in the world. Russia has 
annexed 567,364 square miles; the United States, 1,968,009; France, 4,620; 
Prussia, 29,781; Sardinia, expanding into Italy, has increased by 83,041: 
the Indian empire has been augmented by 431,616. The principal states 
that have lost territory are Turkey, Mexico, Austria, Denmark, and the 
Netherlands." 

In their bearing upon the prophecy before us, these state- 
ments are worthy the particular attention of the reader. Dur- 
ing the half century named, twenty-one governments disap- 
peared altogether, and only three new ones arose. Five lost 
in territory instead of gaining. Only five besides the United 
States added to their domain, and the one which did the most 
in this direction, added only a little over half a million of 
square miles; while the United States added nearly two mil- 
lion square miles. Thus the American government added 
over fourteen hundred thousand square miles of territory, 
during the fifty years named, more than any other single 
nation, and over eight hundred thousand more than were 
added, during that time, by all the other nations of the earth 
put together. Can any one doubt what nation was emphatic- 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



531 



ally " coming up " during the period covered by these statistics ? 
Certainly it must be admitted that the United States is the only 
power that meets the specification of the prophecy on this point 
of chronology. 

Mr. Wesley, in his notes on Kevelation 14, written in 1754, 
says of the two-horned beast : — 

< 'He has not yet come, though he cannot be far off; for he 
is to appear at the end of the forty-two months of the first 
beast." 

3. Age of This Power. — There is good evidence to show 
that the government symbolized by the two-horned beast is in- 
troduced into prophecy in the early part of its career; that 
is, when first brought to view, a youthful power. John's 
words are, " And I beheld another beast coming up out of the 
earth, and he had two horns like a lamb." Why does not 
John simply say, 4 ' He had two horns ' ' ? Why does he add, 
"like a lamb " ? It must be for the purpose of denoting the 
character of this beast, showing that it is not only of a very 
innocent and harmless demeanor, ostensibly, but also that it is 
a very youthful power / for the horns of a lamb are horns that 
have but just begun to grow. 

Bear in mind that by the preceding argument on chronology, 
our gaze is fixed to the year 1798; and the power symbolized 
was then a youthful power, according to the present argument. 
Question : What notable power was at that time coming into 
prominence, but still in its youth ? England was not, nor was 
France, nor Kussia, nor any European power. For a young 
and rising power at that epoch, we are obliged to turn our 
eyes to the New World. But as soon as we turn them to 
this continent, they rest inevitably upon this country as the 
power in question. No other power this side of the ocean is 
entitled to any mention in comparison with it. 

4. Location of the Two- horned Beast. — A single declara- 
tion of the prophecy is sufficient to guide us to important and 
correct conclusions on this point. John calls it ' 4 another beast. ' ' 
It is a symbol in addition to, and different from, the papal beast 
which the prophet had just had under consideration; that is, it 



532 



THE REVELATION. 



symbolizes a power separate and distinct from that which is 
denoted by the preceding beast. This which John calls ' ' an- 
other beast" is certainly no part of the first beast; and the 
power symbolized by it is likewise no part of that which is 
intended by that beast. This is -fatal to the claim of those, 
who, to avoid the application of this symbol to our own gov- 
ernment, say that it denotes some phase of the papacy; for in 
that case it would be a part of the preceding, or leopard beast. 

If this is ' £ another ' ' beast, it must be found in some locality 
not covered by any other symbols. Let us, then, take a brief 
survey of those symbols found in the word of God, which rep- 
resent earthly governments. These are found chiefly, if not 
entirely, in the books of Daniel and the Revelation. In Daniel 
2, a symbol is introduced in the form of a great image, con- 
sisting of four parts, — gold, silver, brass, and iron, — which is 
finally dashed to atoms, and a great mountain, taking its place, 
fills the whole earth. In Daniel 7, we find a lion, a bear, a 
leopard, and a great and terrible nondescript beast, which, after 
passing through a new and remarkable phase, goes into the lake 
of fire. In Daniel 8, we have a ram, a he-goat, and a horn, 
little at first, but waxing exceeding great. In Revelation 9, 
we have locusts like unto horses. In Revelation 12, we have 
a great red dragon. In Revelation 13, we have a blasphemous 
leopard beast, and a beast with two horns like a lamb. In 
Revelation 17, we have a scarlet-colored beast, upon which a 
woman sits, holding in her hand a golden cup full of filthiness 
and abomination. 

What governments' and what powers are represented by all 
these ? Do any of them symbolize the United States ? Some 
of them certainly represent earthly kingdoms, for so the 
prophecies themselves expressly inform us; and in the appli- 
cation of nearly all of them there is. quite a uniform agreement 
among expositors. The four parts of the great image of Dan- 
iel 2 represent four kingdoms, — Babylon, or Chaldea, Medo- 
Persia, Greece, and Rome. The lion of the seventh chapter 
also represents Babylon; the bear, Medo-Persia; the leopard, 
Grecia; and the great and terrible beast, Rome. The horn 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



533 



with human eyes and mouth, which appears in the second 
phase of this beast, represents the papacy, and covers its his- 
tory down to the time when it was temporarily overthrown by 
the French in 1798. In Daniel 8, likewise, the ram represents 
Medo-Persia; the he-goat, Grecia; and the little horn, Rome. 
All these have a very clear and definite application to the gov- 
ernments named; none of them thus far can have any reference 
to the United States. 

The symbols brought to view in Revelation 9, all are 
agreed in applying to the Saracens and Turks. The dragon of 
Revelation 12 is the acknowledged symbol of pagan Rome. 
The leopard beast of chapter 13 can be shown to be identical 
with the eleventh horn of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, and 
hence to symbolize the papacy. The scarlet beast and woman 
of Revelation 17 as evidently apply also to Rome under pagan 
and papal rule, the symbols having especial reference to the 
distinction between the civil power and the ecclesiastical, the 
one being represented by the beast, the other by the woman 
seated thereon. 

There is one symbol left, and that is the two-horned beast 
of Revelation 13. On this there is more difference of opinion; 
and before seeking for an application, let us look at the ground 
covered by those already examined. Babylon and Medo-Persia 
covered all the civilized portion of Asia. Greece covered 
Eastern Europe, including Russia. Rome, with the ten king- 
doms into which it was divided, as represented by the ten toes 
of the image, the ten horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, the 
ten horns of the dragon of Revelation 12, and the ten horns 
of the leopard beast of Revelation 13, covered all Western 
Europe. (See Map of the Four Kingdoms, facing page 64.) 
In other words, all the Eastern Hemisphere known to history 
and civilization, is absorbed by the symbols already examined, 
respecting the application of which there is scarcely any room 
for doubt. 

But there is a mighty nation in the Western Hemisphere, 
worthy, as we have seen, of being mentioned in prophecy, 
which is not yet brought in; and there is one symbol remain- 



534 



THE REVELATION. 



ing, the application of which has not yet been made. All the 
symbols but one are applied, and all the available portions of 
the Eastern Hemisphere are covered by the applications. Of 
all the symbols mentioned, one alone, the two-horned beast of 
Revelation 13, is left; and of all the countries of the earth 
respecting which any reason exists why they should be men- 
tioned in prophecy, one alone, the United States government, 
remains. Do the two-horned beast and the United States be- 
long together ? If. they do, then all the symbols find an appli- 
cation, and all the ground is covered. If they do not, it 
follows, first, that the United States is not represented in 
prophecy; and secondly, that the symbol of the two-horned 
beast finds no government to which it can apply. But the first 
of these suppositions is not probable, and the second is not 
possible. 

But one conclusion can be drawn from these arguments, 
and that is that the two-horned beast must be located in the 
Western Hemisphere, and that it symbolizes the United States. 

Another consideration pointing to the locality of this power 
is drawn from the fact that John saw it arising from the earth. 
If the sea, from which the leopard beast arose (Rev. 13 ; 1), 
denotes peoples, nations, and multitudes (Rev. 17:15), the 
earth would suggest, by contrast, a new and previously unoc- 
cupied territory. 

Being thus excluded from Eastern continents, and impressed 
with the idea of looking to territory not previously known to 
civilization, we turn of necessity to the Western Hemisphere. 

5. The Manner of Its Rise. — The manner in which the 
two-horned beast was seen coming up shows, equally with its 
location, age, and chronology that it is a symbol of the United 
States. John says he saw the beast coming up "out of the 
earth." And this expression must have been designedly used 
to point out the contrast between the rise of this beast and that 
of other national prophetic symbols. The four beasts of Daniel 
7 and the leopard beast of Revelation 13 all arose out of the 
sea. New nations generally arise by overthrowing other na- 
tions, and taking their place. But no other nation was over- 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



535 



turned in order to make room for the United States, and the 
struggle for its independence was already fifteen years in the 
past when it came into the field of prophecy. The prophet 
saw only peace. 

The word which is used in verse 11, to describe the manner 
in which this beast comes up, is very expressive. It is avapahov 
( anabainon ), one of the prominent definitions of which is, 
"To grow or spring up as a plant." And it is a remarkable 
fact that this very figure has been chosen by political writers, 
without any reference to the prophecy, as the one conveying 
the best idea of the manner in which this government has 
arisen. Mr. G. A. Townsend, in his work entitled The New 
World Compared with the Old, page 635, says : — 

u In this web of islands — the West Indies — began the life 
of both [ North and South ] Americas. There Columbus saw 
land; there Spain began her baneful and brilliant Western em- 
pire; thence Cortez departed for Mexico, De Soto for the Mis- 
sissippi, Balboa for the Pacific, and Pizarro for Peru. The 
history of the United States was separated by a beneficent 
Providence far from this wild and cruel history of the rest of 
the continent, and like a silent seed ive greio into empire; while 
empire itself, beginning in the South, was swept by so inter- 
minable a hurricane that what of its history we can ascertain 
is read by the very lightnings that devastated it. The growth 
of English America may be likened to a series of lyrics sung by 
separate singers, which, coalescing, at last make a vigorous 
chorus, and this, attracting many from afar, swells and is pro- 
longed, until presently it assumes the dignity and proportions 
of epic song." 

A writer in the Dublin Nation, about the year 1850, spoke 
of the United States as a wonderful empire which was ' ' emer- 
ging, ' ' and " amid the silence of the earth daily adding to its 
power and pride. ' ' 

In Marty u's History of the Great Reformation, Yol. IY, 
p. 238, is an extract from an oration delivered by Edward 
Everett on the English exiles who founded this government, in 
which he says : — 



536 



THE REVELATION. 



< 'Did they look for a retired spot, inoffensive from its 
obscurity, safe in its remoteness from the haunts of despots 
where the little church of Leyden might enjoy freedom of 
conscience ? Behold the mighty regions over which, in peace- 
ful conquest — victoria sine clade — they have borne the banners 
of the cross." 

Will the reader now look at these expressions side by side, 
— " coming up out of the earth," " emerging amid the silence 
of the earth," ' 4 like a silent seed we grew into empire," 
"mighty regions" secured by "peaceful conquest." The 
first is from the prophet, stating what would be when the 
two-horned beast should arise; the others are from political 
writers, telling what has been in the history of our own gov- 
ernment. Can any one fail to see that the last three are 
exactly synonymous with the first, and that they record a com- 
plete accomplishment of the prediction ? 

Another inquiry naturally follows : Has the United States 
' ' come up " in a manner to meet the specifications of the 
prophecy ? Let us see. A short time before the great Kefor- 
mation in the days of Martin Luther, not four hundred years 
ago, this Western Hemisphere was discovered. The Keforma- 
tion awoke the nations, that were fast fettered in the galling 
bonds of superstition, to the fact that it is the heaven-born right 
of every man to worship God according to the dictates of his 
own conscience. But rulers are loth to lose their power, and 
religious intolerance still oppressed the people. Under these 
circumstances, a body of religious heroes at length determined 
to seek in the wilds of America that measure of civil and relig- 
ious freedom which they so much desired. In pursuance of 
their noble purpose, one hundred of these voluntary exiles 
landed from the Mayflower, on the coast of New England, 
Dec. 22, 1620. "Here," says Martyn, "New England was 
born," and this was "its first baby cry, — a prayer and a 
thanksgiving to the Lord." 

Another permanent English settlement was made at James- 
town, Va., in 1607. In process of time, other settlements 
were made and colonies organized, which were all subject to 



I 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



537 



the English crown till the Declaration of Independence, July 
4, 1776. 

The population of these colonies, according to the United 
States Magazine of August, 1855, amounted in 1701 to 262,- 
000; in 1719, to 1,016,000; in 1775, to 2,803,000. Then 
commenced the struggle of the American colonies for independ- 
ence. In 1776, they declared themselves a free and independ- 
ent nation. In 1777, delegates from the thirteen original 
States, — New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Khode Island, Con- 
necticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
Georgia, — in Congress assembled, adopted Articles of Con- 
federation. In 1783, the war of the Kevolution closed with a 
treaty of peace with Great Britain, whereby the id dependence 
of the United States was acknowledged, and territory ceded to 
the extent of 815,615 square miles. In 1787, the Constitution 
was framed, and ratified by the foregoing thirteen States; and 
on the 1st of March, 1789, it went into effect. Then the 
American ship of state was fairly launched, with less than 
one million square miles of territory, and about three million 
souls. Thus are we brought to the year 1798, when this gov- 
ernment is introduced into prophecy. And now, passing over 
a little more than a hundred years, to the last decade of the 
nineteenth century, the territory of the United States govern- 
ment has expanded to 3,678,392 square miles, and its popula- 
tion has increased to about 70,000,000 people. Its growth in 
all industrial pursuits, agricultural productions, cattle raising, 
newspapers, schools, production of the precious metals, and 
wealth of all kinds which pertain to a civilized people, has 
been equally remarkable, and furnishes an ample basis for the 
application of the prophecy. 

6. Character of the Government Symbolized by the Two- 
homed Beast. — Under this division of the subject we find still 
further evidence that the symbol represents the United States 
government. In describing this power, John says that it had 
"two horns like a lamb." The horns of a lamb indicate, first, 
youthfulness, and secondly, innocence and gentleness. As a 



538 



THE REVELATION. 



power which has but recently arisen, the United States answers 
to the symbol admirably in respect to age ; while no other power, 
as has already been proved, can be found to do this. And con- 
sidered as an index of power and character, it can be decided 
what constitutes the two horns of the government, if it can be 
ascertained what is the secret of its strength and power, and 
what reveals its apparent character, or constitutes its outward 
profession. The Hon. J. A. Bingham gives us the clue to the 
whole matter when he states that the object of those who first 
sought these shores was to found " what the world had not seen 
for ages; viz., a church without a pope, and a state without a 
king. " Expressed in other words, this would be a government 
in which the ecclesiastical should be separate from the civil 
power, and civil and religious liberty reign supreme. 

It needs no argument to show, and even the statement is 
- unnecessary, that this is precisely the profession of the Ameri- 
can government. Article IY, sec. 4 of the Constitution of the 
United States, reads : ' ' The United States shall guarantee to 
every State in this Union a republican form of government," 
Article YI : ' ' No religious test shall ever be required as a quali- 
fication to any office or public trust under the United States." 
The first amendment of the Constitution (Art. I) begins as fol- 
lows : ' £ Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment 
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." These 
articles profess the amplest guarantee of civil and religious lib- 
erty, the entire and perpetual separation of church and state; 
and what better symbols of them could be given than ' ' two 
horns like a lamb " ? In what other country can be found a 
condition of things which would meet so completely this feature 
of the symbol ? . • 

7. A .Republican Government. — The two-horned beast sym- 
bolizes a nation with a republican form of government. This 
is shown by the absence of crowns both upon its head and its 
horns. A crown is an appropriate symbol of a kingly or mon- 
archical form of government ; and the absence of crowns, as in 
this case, would suggest a government in which the power is 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



539 



not vested in an^* such ruling member, but is, per consequence, 
lodged in the hands of the people. 

But this is not the most conclusive proof that the nation 
here symbolized is republican in its form of government. From 
verse 14 we learn that appeal is made to the people when any 
national action is to be performed : < ' Saying to them that dwell 
on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast," etc. 
Were the government a monarchy, national questions would 
hardly be submitted in this unqualified manner, to the people; 
and the fact that appeal is here made to the people shows that 
the form of the government is such that the power is vested 
in their hands; and this is emphatically the case in the United 
States government, but not in any other government to which 
any one could reasonably think of applying this symbol. This 
is another strong link in the chain of evidence that this symbol 
must apply to the United States of America. 

8. A Protestant Nation. — The two-horned beast also sym- 
bolizes a government which is Protestant in religion, or which, 
at least, is a non-Catholic power. It has been shown that the 
preceding beast symbolized the papacy; and of the two-horned 
beast we read that he causeth the earth and them which dwell 
therein to worship the first beast. But in all Catholic coun- 
tries, the people voluntarily worship the beast, or obey the dic- 
tates of Catholicism, without being "caused," or compelled, 
to do so by the government. The fact that the people of this 
government do not render this worship till caused to do so by 
the civil power, shows that the religion they entertain is not 
Catholicism. As an almost inevitable consequence, it follows 
that it is Protestantism; for these are the only two religions of 
auy consequence in Christendom. The United States is a 
Protestant nation, and meets the requirements of the prophecy 
admirably in this respect. Thus again the prophecy points 
directly to this government. 

9. The Dragon Voice. — After contemplating all the good 
features presented in this symbol, it is with pain we read that 
"he spake as a dragon." Before entering upon a discussion 



540 



THE REVELATION. 



of this topic, let us look at the points already established. It 
has been shown, — 

(1.) That the government symbolized by the two-horned 
beast must be some government distinct from the powers of the 
Old World, whether civil or ecclesiastical. 

(2.) That it must arise in the Western Hemisphere. 

(3.) That it must be seen assuming a position of promi- 
nence and influence about the year 1798. 

(4.) That it must rise in a peaceful and quiet manner, not 
augmenting its power, as other nations have done, by aggres- 
sive wars and successful conquests. 

(5.) That its progress must be so rapid as to strike the be- 
holder with as much wonder as would the perceptible growth 
of an animal before his eyes. 

(6.) That it must be republican in its form of government. 

(7.) That it must be Protestant in its religion. 

(8.) That it must exhibit before the world, as an index of 
its character and the elements of its government, two great 
principles which are in themselves perfectly just, innocent, 
and lamblike. 

(9.) That it must perform its work in the present century, 
or this side of 1798. 

And we have seen that of these nine specifications, it can 
be said : first, that they are all perfectly met in the history of 
the United States thus far; and secondly, that they are not met 
in the history of any other government on the face of the 
earth. It is therefore impossible to apply the symbol of Rev. 
13 : 11 to any other government but that of the United States. 

But after describing the lamblike appearance of this sym- 
bol, the prophet immediately adds this, ' ' And he spake as a 
dragon." The dragon, the first link in this chain of prophecy, 
was a relentless persecutor of the church of God. The leopard 
beast, which follows, was likewise a persecuting power, grind- 
ing out for 1260 years the lives of millions of the followers 
of Christ. The third actor in the scene, the two-horned beast, 
speaks like the first, and thus shows himself to be a dragon at 
heart; 4 'for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17 



541 



speaketh, " and in the heart, actions are conceived. This, 
then, like the others, is to be a persecuting power; and the 
reason that any of them are mentioned in prophecy, is simply 
because they are persecuting powers. And if the United 
States is the power intended by this symbol which speaks as 
a dragon, it follows that this government is to enact unjust and 
oppressive laws against the religious profession and practice of 
some of its subjects. 

Nor is this so improbable an event as might at first appear. 
We must remember that in the last days the vast majority of 
the people of the most favored lands are to relapse into the low 
moral condition described in such scriptures as Matt. 24 : 12; 
2 Tim. 3 : 1-5; 2 Peter 3 : 3, 4; Luke 17 : 26-30; 18 : 8; and 
it is from such that those who live godly in Christ Jesus will 
suffer persecution. 2 Tim. 3 : 12. 

Evil is also threatening from another quarter. Roman 
Catholicism which has grown strong through immigration, has 
fixed its rapacious eyes on the United States, determined to 
bring this government under its power. Yotes rule here, and 
Romanism controls an immense suffrage, which it carefully 
manipulates to its own ends. With such a weapon in its 
hands, its power for evil is almost unlimited; for multitudes 
of unscrupulous politicians, who under their country's pay, 
labor not for their country's good but for their own selfish 
aggrandizement, stand ready to help any party carry out any 
scheme, no matter how wicked, if that party will keep them 
in office. 

And in the Protestant churches there is that which threatens 
to lead to equally serious evils. Wealth, pride, selfishness, 
love of display, and wordliness in general, are fostering a spirit 
of religious aristocracy fatal to godliness and true piety. But 
above all the creed-power is binding — perhaps it may be said, 
has bound — the churches as in iron bands. Charles Beecher's 
celebrated sermon on creeds arraigns the whole church polity 
of Protestantism as ruinous in this respect to religious liberty. 
Though uttered many years ago, it is still growing more true 
each day. He says : — 



542 



THE REVELATION. 



' < Our best, most humble, most devoted servants of Christ 
are fostering in their midst what will one day, not long hence, 
show itself to be the spawn of the dragon. They shrink from 
any rude word against creeds with the same sensitiveness with 
which those holy fathers would have shrunk from a rude word 
against the rising veneration of saints and martyrs which they 
were fostering. . . . The Protestant evangelical denominations 
have so tied up one another's hands, and their own, that, be- 
tween them all, a man cannot become a preacher at all, any- 
where, without accepting some book besides the Bible. . . . 
There is nothing imaginary in the statement that the creed- 
power is now beginning to prohibit the Bible as really as Eome 
did, though in a subtler way." 

In addition to this, we have Spiritualism, infidelity, social- 
ism, free love, and trades unions, or labor against capital, and 
communism, — all assiduously spreading their principles among 
the masses. These are the very principles that worked among 
the people, as the exciting cause, just prior to the terrible 
French Revolution of 1783-1800. Human nature is the same 
in all ages, and like causes will surely produce like effects. 

10. Great Wonders. — In that part of the prediction which 
sets forth the work of the two-horned beast, we read that ' ' he 
doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from 
heaven on the earth in the sight of men." In this specifica- 
tion we have still further proof that the United States is the 
government represented by the two-horned beast. That we 
are living in an age of wonders, none deny. (See on Dan. 
12 : 4, remarks on the wonderful achievements of the present 
age, and two plates of vignettes illustrating some of the lead- 
ing triumphs of scientific and inventive skill.) 

But this prophecy is not fulfilled in the great advancement 
in knowledge, the discoveries and inventions, so notable at the 
present time; for the wonders to which the prophet had refer- 
ence are evidently wrought for the purpose of deceiving the 
people, as we read in verse 14: u And deceiveth them that 
dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



543 



had power to do in the sight of the beast." This identifies the 
two-horned beast with the false prophet of Rev. 19 : 20; for 
this false prophet is the power that works miracles before the 
beast, ' 1 with which he deceived them that had received the 
mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image, ' ' — 
the identical work of the two-horned beast. We can now 
ascertain by what means the miracles in question are wrought; 
for Rev. 16 : 13, 14 speaks of spirits of devils working mira- 
cles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the 
whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of 
God Almighty; and these miracle-working spirits go forth out 
of the mouths of certain powers, one of which is this very false 
prophet, or two-horned beast. 

The Saviour, predicting events to occur just before his 
second coming, says, "For there shall arise false Christs, and 
false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; inso- 
much that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very 
elect." Here, again, are wonders foretold, wrought for the 
purpose of deception, so powerful, that, were it possible, even 
the very elect would be deceived by them. 

Thus we have a prophecy ( and there are many others ) 
setting forth the development, in the last days, of a wonder- 
working power, manifested to a startling and unprecedented 
degree in the interest of falsehood and error. The earthly 
government with which it was to be especially connected is 
that represented by the two-horned beast, or false prophet. 
The agency lying back of the outward manifestations was to 
be Satanic, the spirit of devils. The prophecy calls for such 
a work as this in America at the present time. Do we behold 
anything like it ? Read the answer in the lamentation of the 
prophet : < ' Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea ! 
for the Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, 
because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Stand 
aghast, O earth ! tremble, ye people, but be not deceived ! 
The huge specter of evil confronts us, as the prophet declared. 
Satan is loosed. From the depth of Tartarus myriads of 



544 



THE REVELATION. 



demons swarm over the land. The prince of darkness mani- 
fests himself as never before, and throwing over his work a 
would-be heavenly garb, he calls it — Spiritualism. 

(1.) Does Spiritualism, then, bear these marks of Satanic 
agency ? 

a. The spirits which communicate, claim to be the spirits of 
our departed friends. But the Bible, in the most explicit 
terms, assures us that the dead are wholly inactive and uncon- 
scious till the resurrection; that the dead know not anything 
(Eccl. 9:5); that every operation of the mind has ceased (Ps. 
146 : 4); that every emotion of the heart is suspended (Eccl. 
9:6); and that there is neither work, nor device, nor knowl- 
edge, nor wisdom in the grave, where they lie. Eccl. 9 : 10. 
Whatever intelligence, therefore, comes to us professing to be 

- one of our dead friends, comes claiming to be what, from the 
word of God, we know he is not. But angels of God do not 
lie; therefore these are not the good angels. Spirits of devils 
will lie; this is their work; and these are the credentials which 
at the very outset they hand us. 

b. The doctrines which they teach are also directly contrary 
to the Bible. They deny God. They deny Christ. They deny 
the atonement. They deny the Bible. They deny the ex- 
istence of sin, and all distinction between right and wrong. 
They deny the sacredness of the marriage covenant; and, in- 
terspersing their utterances with blasphemies against God and 
his Son, and everything that is lovely, and good, and pure, 
they give the freest license to every propensity to sin, and to 
every carnal and fleshly lust. Tell us not that these things, 
openly taught under the garb of religion, and backed up by 
supernatural sights and sounds, are anything less than Satan's 
masterpiece. For proof that these charges are none too severe, 
see Spiritualism a Subject of Prophecy, containing quotations 
from their own writings. (Review and Herald Publishing 
House, Battle Creek, Mich.) 

(2.) Spiritualism answers accurately to the prophecy in the 
exhibition of great signs and wonders. Among its many 
achievements, these may be mentioned. Various articles have 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



545 



been transported from place to place by spirits alone; beautiful 
music has been produced independently of human agency, with 
and without the aid of visible instruments; many well-attested 
cases of healing have been presented; persons have been carried 
through the air by the spirits in the presence of many others; 
tables have been suspended in the air with several persons upon 
them; and, finally, spirits have presented themselves in bodily 
form, and talked with an audible voice. 

(3.) Spiritualism answers to the prophecy in that it had its 
origin in the United States, thus connecting its wonders with 
the work of the two-horned beast. Commencing in Hydesville, 
N. \ ., in the family of Mr. John D. Fox, in the latter part of 
March, 1848, it spread with incredible rapidity through all the 
world. A letter to the writer from a leading Spiritualist pub- 
lisher, December, 1895, claims five million believers in the 
United States, and fifty million throughout the world. Of 
those who have become its devotees, Judge Edmonds said, as 
long ago as 1853 : — 

"Besides the undistinguished multitude, there are many 
now of high standing and talent ranked among them, — doctors, 
lawyers, and clergymen in great numbers, a Protestant bishop, 
the learned and reverend president of a college, judges of our 
higher courts, members of Congress, foreign ambassadors, and 
ex-members of the United States Senate. 1 ' 

The foregoing statement was written many years ago; and 
from that time to this the work of the spirits has been steadily 
progressing, and spreading among all classes of people. 

One reason why it is now difficult to estimate the number 
of those who might properly be denominated Spiritualists, is 
that the more prominent and respectable of the adherents of 
this movement are drawing under cover the obnoxious and im- 
moral features of the system, heretofore so prominent, and as- 
suming a Christian garb. By this move they bring themselves 
and a multitude of church-members, upon common ground, 
where there is no distinction between them in fact, though 
there still may be in name; the latter still remaining with 
their various denominations. 
35 



546 



THE REVELATION. 



A little work by Hudson Tuttle, What is Spiritualism ? 
p. 6, gives a list of twenty-two emperors, queens, princes, and 
members of the nobility, who have, through Spiritualism 
sought counsel in their affairs, or favored and supported its 
claims. It is thus preparing to fulfil Rev. 16 : 14, and gather 
the nations to the battle of the great day. 

11. An Image to the Beast. — Closely associated with this 
working of miracles is the erection of an image to the beast. 
The prophet thus connects the two in verse 14 : "And deceiv- 
eth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those mira- 
cles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying 
to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an 
image to the beast which had the wound by a sword, and did 
live." The deception accomplished by the working of the 
miracles prepares the way for compliance with this demand 
for the formation of an image to the beast. 

To understand what would be an image of the papacy, we 
must first gain some definite idea of what constitutes the pa- 
pacy itself. The full development of the beast, or the estab- 
lishment of papal supremacy, dates from the famous letter of 
Justinian, which was made effective in a. d. 538, constituting 
the pope the head of the church and the corrector of heretics. 
The papacy was a church clothed with civil power, — an eccle- 
siastical body having authority to punish all dissenters with 
confiscation of goods, imprisonment, torture, and death. What 
would be an image of the papacy i — Another ecclesiastical 
establishment clothed with similar power. How could such an 
image be formed in the United States ? Let the Protestant 
churches be clothed with power to define and punish heresy, 
to enforce their dogmas under the pains and penalties of the 
civil law, and should we not have an exact representation of 
the papacy during the days of its supremacy ? 

It may be objected that whereas the papal church was com- 
paratively a unit, and hence could act in harmony in all its 
departments in enforcing its dogmas, the Protestant church is 
so divided as to be unable to agree in regard to what doctrines 
shall be made imperative on the people. The answer is, There 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



547 



are certain points which they hold in common, and which are 
sufficient to form a basis of co-operation. Chief among these 
may be mentioned the doctrine of the conscious state of the 
dead and the immortality of the soul, which is both the foun- 
dation and superstructure of Spiritualism; and also the doctrine 
that the first day of the week is the Christian Sabbath. 

Let, now, an ecclesiastical organization be formed by these 
churches; let the government legalize such organization, and 
give it power (a power which it will not have till the govern- 
ment does grant it) to enforce upon the people the dogmas 
which the different denominations can all adopt as the basis 
of union, and what do we have? — Just what the prophecy 
represents, — an image to the papal beast, endowed with life 
by the two-horned beast, to speak and act with power. 

And are there any indications of such a movement ? The 
preliminary question — that of the grand union of all the 
churches — is now profoundly agitating the religious world. 

Chas. Beecher, in his sermon at the dedication of the 
Second Presbyterian church, Ft. Wayne, Ind., Feb. 22, 
1846, before referred to, said : — 

"Thus are the ministry of the evangelical Protestant de- 
nominations not only formed all the way up under a tremen- 
dous pressure of merely human fear, but they live, and move, 
and breathe in a state of things radically corrupt, and appeal- 
ing every hour to every baser element of their nature to hush 
up the truth, and bow the knee to the power of apostasy. Was 
not this the way things went with Rome ? Are we not living 
her life over again? And what do we see just ahead ? — 
Another general council ! a world's convention ! evangelical 
alliance, and universal creed ! " 

The Banner of Light of July 30, 1864, said : — 

"A system will be unfolded sooner or later that will em- 
brace in its folds church and state; for the object of the two 
should be one and the same." 

The Church Advocate, in March, 1870, speaking of the 
formation of an "Independent American Catholic Church,' ' a 
movement now agitated in this country, said : — 



548 



THE REVELATION. 



' ' There is evidently some secret power at work, which may 
be preparing the world for great events in the near future." 

A Mr. Havens, in a speech delivered in New York a few 
years ago, said : — 

' ' For my own part, I wait to see the day when a Luther 
shall spring up in this country, who shall found a great 
American Catholic Church, instead of a great Roman Catholic 
Church; and who shall teach men that they can be good 
Catholics without professing allegiance to a pontiff on the 
other side of the Atlantic." 

In favor of this union, or rather, confederacy, of churches, 
journals are published, and speakers are pleading to-day. 
Thus there are indications that at no distant day such a 
church will be seen, not, indeed, raised up through the instru- 
mentality of a Luther, but rather through the operation of the 
same spirit that inspired a Fernando Nunez or a Torquemada. 
This being done, another instalment of the prophecy will be 
accomplished, and the image will be formed. And inasmuch 
as the United States is the only country where such a move 
can be looked for, and as events are here openly tending to 
such a result, the evidence is hereby still further strengthened 
that the prophecy applies to this government. 

12. The Mark of the Beast. — The two-horned beast 
enforces upon its subjects the mark of the first beast. We 
have now in the prophecy three agents introduced, which 
we must carefully distinguish from one another to avoid 
confusion. 

(1.) The papal beast. This power is designated as "the 
beast," " the first beast," " the beast which had the wound by 
a sword, and did live," and "the beast whose deadly wound 
was healed." These expressions all refer to the same power; 
and wherever they occur in this prophecy, they have exclusive 
reference to the papacy. 

(2.) The two-horned beast. This power, after its intro- 
duction in verse 11 of chapter 13, is represented through the 
remainder of the prophecy by the pronoun he; and wherever 
this pronoun occurs, down to the 17th verse (with possibly the 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



549 



exception of the 16th verse, which perhaps may refer to the 
image), it refers invariably to the two-horned beast. 

(3.) The image of the beast. This is, every time, with the 
possible, but not probable exception just stated, called the 
image; so that there is no danger of confounding this with 
any other agent. 

The acts ascribed to the image are, speaking, and enforcing 
the worship of itself under the penalty of death; and this is the 
only enactment which the prophecy mentions as enforced under 
the death penalty. 

The mark of the beast is enforced by the two-horned beast, 
either directly or through the image. The penalty attached to 
a refusal to receive this mark is a forfeiture of all social privi- 
leges, a deprivation of the right to buy and sell. The mark 
is the mark of the papal beast. Against this worship of the 
beast and his image, and the reception of his mark, the third 
angel's message of Rev. 14 : 9-12 is a most solemn and thrill- 
ing warning. 

This, then, is the issue, which, according to this prophecy, 
we are soon to be called upon to meet; namely, human organ- 
izations, controlled and inspired by the spirit of the dragon, are 
to command men to do those acts which are in reality the wor- 
shiping of an apostate religious power and the receiving of his 
mark; and if they refuse to do this, they lose the rights of 
citizenship, and become outlaws in the land; and they must do 
that which constitutes the worship of the image of the beast, or 
forfeit their lives. On the other hand, God sends forth a mes- 
sage a little before the fearful crisis is upon us, as we shall see 
under chapter 14 : 9-12, declaring that all who do any of these 
things " shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is 
poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation." 
He who refuses to comply with these demands of earthly powers 
exposes himself to the severest penalties which human beings 
can inflict; and he who does comply, exposes himself to the 
most terrible threatenings of divine wrath to be found in the 
word of God. The question whether they will obey God or 
man is to be decided by the people of the present age, under the 



550 



THE REVELATION. 



heaviest pressure, from either side, that has ever been brought 
to bear upon any generation. 

The worship of the beast and his image, and the reception 
of his mark, must be something that involves the greatest offense 
that can be committed against God, to call down so severe a 
denunciation of wrath against it. This is a work, as has already 
been shown, which takes place in the last days; and as God has 
given us in his word most abundant evidence to show when we 
are in the last days, that no one need be overtaken by the day 
of the Lord as by a thief, so, likewise, it must be that he has 
given us the means whereby we may determine what the receiv- 
ing of the mark of the beast is, which he has so strongly con- 
demned, that we may avoid the fearful penalty so sure to follow 
the - commission of this act. God does not so trifle with human 
hopes and human destinies as to denounce a most fearful doom 
against a certain sin, and then place it out of our power to un- 
derstand what that sin is, so that we have no means of guarding 
against it. 

We therefore now call attention to the very important in- 
quiry, What constitutes the mark of the beast ? The figure of 
a mark is borrowed from an ancient custom. Bishop Newton 
(Dissertations on the Prophecies, Yol. Ill, p. 241) says : — 

' ' It was customary among the ancients for servants to re- 
ceive the mark of their master, and soldiers of their general, 
and those who were devoted to any particular deity, of the 
particular deity to whom they were devoted. These marks were 
usually impressed on their right hand or on their forehead, and 
consisted of some hieroglyphic character, or of the name ex- 
pressed in vulgar letters, or of the name disguised in numerical 
letters, according to the fancy of the imposer. " 

Prideaux says that Ptolemy Philopater ordered all the J ews 
who applied to be enrolled as citizens of Alexandria to have the 
form of an ivy leaf (the badge of his god, Bacchus) impressed 
upon them with a hot iron, under pain of death. (Prideaux' s 
Connection. Yol. II, p. 78.) 

The word used for mark in this prophecy is x&payiMi 
(charagma), and is defined to mean, "a graving, sculpture; a 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



551 



mark cut in or stamped. ' ' It occurs nine times in the New 
Testament, and with the single exception of Acts 17 : 29, 
refers every time to the mark of the beast. We are not, of 
course, to understand in this symbolic prophecy that a literal 
mark is intended ; but the giving of the literal mark, as prac- 
ticed in ancient times, is used as a figure to illustrate certain 
acts that will be performed in the fulfilment of this prophecy. 
And from the literal mark as formerly employed, we learn 
something of its meaning as used in the prophecy; for between 
the symbol and the thing symbolized there must be some 
resemblance. The mark, as literally used, signified that the 
person receiving it was the servant of, acknowledged the 
authority of, or professed allegiance to, the person whose mark 
he bore. So the mark of the beast, or of the papacy, must be 
some act or profession by which the authority of that power is 
acknowledged. What is it \ 

It would naturally be looked for in some of the special 
characteristics of the papal power. Daniel, describing that 
power under the symbol of a little horn, speaks of it as waging 
a special warfare against God, wearing out the saints of the 
Most High, and thinking to change times and laws. The 
prophet expressly specifies on this point : ' ' He shall think 
to change times and laws." These laws must certainly be the 
laws of the Most High. To apply it to human laws, and make 
the prophecy read, "And he shall speak great words against 
the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, 
and think to change human laws," would be doing evident 
violence to the language of the prophet. But apply it to the 
laws of God, and let it read, " And he shall speak great words 
against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the 
Most High, and shall think to change the times and laws of 
the Most High, ' ' and all is consistent and forcible. The He- 
brew has rn (dath), law, and the Septuagint reads, vouoq (viomos) 
in the singular, "the law," which more directly suggests the 
law of God. The papacy has been able to do more than 
merely "think " to change human laws. It has changed them 
at pleasure. It has annulled the decrees of kings and emper- 



552 



THE REVELATION. 



ors, and absolved subjects from allegiance to their rightful 
sovereigns. It has thrust its long arm into the affairs of 
nations, and brought rulers to its feet in the most abject 
humility. But the prophet beholds greater acts of presump- 
tion than these. He sees it endeavor to do what it was not 
able to do, but could only think to do; he sees it attempt an 
act which no man, nor any combination of men, can ever 
accomplish; and that is, to change the law of the Most High. 
Bear this in mind while we look at the testimony of another 
sacred writer on this very point. 

The apostle Paul speaks of the same power in 2 Thessalo- 
nians 2 ; and he describes it, in the person of the pope, as ' ' the 
man of sin," and as "sitting as God in the temple of God" 
(that is, the church), and as exalting himself " above all that is 
called God, or that is worshiped." According to this, the pope 
sets himself up as the one for all the church to look to for au- 
thority, in the place of God. And now we ask the reader to 
ponder carefully the question how he can exalt himself above 
God. Search through the whole range of human devices, go to 
the extent of human effort; by what plan, by what move, by what 
claim, could this usurper exalt himself above God ? He might 
institute any number of ceremonies, he might prescribe any 
form of worship, he might exhibit any degree of power; but 
so long as God had requirements which the people felt bound 
to regard in preference to his own, so long he would not be 
above God. He might enact a law, and teach the people that 
they were under as great obligations to that as to the law of 
God; then he would only make himself equal with God. But 
he is to do more than this; he is to attempt to raise himself 
above him. Then he must promulgate a law which conflicts 
with the law of God, and demand obedience to his own law in 
preference to God's law. There is no other possible way in 
which he could place himself in the position assigned in the 
prophecy. But this is simply to change the law of God; and 
if he can cause this change to be adopted by the people in the 
place of the original enactment, then he, the law-changer, is 
above God, the law-maker. And this is the very work that 
Daniel said he should think to do. 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



553 



Such a work as this, then, the papacy must accomplish 
according to the prophecy; and the prophecy cannot fail. And 
when this is done, what do the people of the world have ? 
They have two laws demanding obedience, — one, the law of 
God as originally enacted by him, an embodiment of his will, 
and expressing his claims upon his creatures; the other, a re- 
vised edition of that law, emanating from the pope of Rome, 
and expressing his will. And how is it to be determined 
which of these powers the people honor and worship % — It is 
determined by the law which they keep. If they keep the law 
of God as given by him, they worship and obey God. If they 
keep the law as changed by the papacy, they worship that 
power. But further : the prophecy does not say that the little 
horn, the papacy, should set aside the law of God, and give 
one entirely different. This would not be to change the law, 
but simply to give a new one. He was only to attempt a 
change, so that the law that comes from God, and the law that 
comes from the papacy, are precisely alike, excepting the change 
which the papacy has made in the former. They have many 
points in common. But none of the precepts which they con- 
tain in common can distinguish a person as the worshiper of 
either power in preference to the other. If God's law says, 
' ' Thou shalt not kill, ' ' and the law as given by the papacy 
says the same, no one can tell by a person's observance of that 
precept whether he designed to obey God rather than the pope, 
or the pope rather than God. But when a precept that has 
been changed is the subject of action, then whoever observes 
that precept as originally given by God, is thereby distin- 
guished as a worshiper of God; and he who keeps it as changed 
is thereby marked as a follower of the power that made the 
change. In no other way can the two classes of worshipers be 
distinguished. From this conclusion, no candid mind can dis- 
sent; but in this conclusion we have a general answer to the 
question, " What constitutes the mark of the beast ? " and that 
answer is simply this : The mark of the beast is the change 
which the beast has attempted to make in the law of God. 

We now inquire what that change is. By the law of God, 
we mean the moral law, the only law in the universe of immu- 



554 



THE REVELATION. 



table and perpetual obligation, — the law of which Webster says, 
defining the term according to the sense in which it is almost 
universally used in Christendom, ' ' The moral law is summarily 
contained in the decalogue, written by the finger of God on 
two tables of stone, and delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai." 

If now the reader will compare the ten commandments as 
found in Roman Catholic catechisms with those commandments 
as found in the Bible, he will see in the catechisms — we mean 
those portions specially devoted to instruction — that the second 
commandment is left out, that the tenth is divided into two 
to make up the lack caused by leaving out the second, and 
keep good the number ten, and that the fourth commandment 
(called the third in their enumeration) is made to enjoin the 
observance of Sunday as the Sabbath, and prescribe that the 
day shall be spent in hearing mass devoutly, attending vespers, 
and reading moral and pious books. Here are several varia- 
tions from the decalogue as found in the Bible. Which of 
them, if any, constitutes the change of the law intended in the 
prophecy ? or are they all included in that change ? Let it be 
borne in mind, that, according to the prophecy, he was to think 
to change times and laws. This plainly conveys the idea of 
intention and design, and makes these qualities essential to 
the change in question. But respecting the omission of the 
second commandment, Catholics argue that it is included in the 
first, and hence should not be numbered as a separate com- 
mandment; and on the tenth they claim that there is so plain 
a distinction of ideas as to require two commandments ; so 
they make the coveting of a neighbor's wife the ninth com- 
mand, and the coveting of his goods the tenth. 

In all this they claim that they are giving the command- 
ments exactly as God intended to have them understood; so, 
while we may regard them as errors in their interpretation of 
the commandments, we cannot set them down as intentional 
changes. Not so, however, with the fourth commandment. 
Respecting this commandment, they do not claim that their ver- 
sion is like that given by God. They expressly claim a change 
here, and also that the change has been made bv the church. 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



555 



A few quotations from standard Catholic works will make this 
matter plain. In a work entitled, Treatise of Thirty Contro- 
versies, we find these words : — 

"The word of God commandeth the seventh day to be the 
Sabbath of our Lord, and to be kept holy; you [Protestants], 
without any precept of Scripture, change it to the first day of 
the week, only authorized by our traditions. Divers English 
Puritans oppose, against this point, that the observation of the 
first day is proved out of Scripture, where it is said, the first 
day of the week. Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10. 
Have they not spun a fair thread in quoting these places ? If 
we should produce no better for purgatory and prayers for the 
dead, invocation of the saints, and the like, they might have 
good cause, indeed, to laugh us to scorn; for where was it 
written that these were Sabbath days in which those meetings 
were kept ? or where is it ordained they should be always 
observed ? or, which is the sum of all, where is it decreed that 
the observation of the first day should abrogate, or abolish, the 
sanctifying of the seventh day, which God commanded ever- 
lastingly to be kept holy ? JSTot one of these is expressed in 
the written word of God." 

In the Catechism of the Christian Religion, by Stephen 
Keenan (Boston, Patrick Donahoe, 1857), p. 206, on the 
subject of the third (fourth) commandment, we find these 
questions and answers : — 

4 ' Ques. What does God ordain by this commandment ? 

4 ' Ans. He ordains that we sanctify, in a special manner, 
this day on which he rested from the labor of creation. 

' 4 Q. What is this day of rest ? 

"A. The seventh day of the week, or Saturday; for he 
employed six days in creation, and rested on the seventh. 
Gen. 2 : 2; Heb. 4:1; etc. 

44 Q. Is it, then, Saturday we should sanctify, in order to 
obey the ordinance of God ? 

44 A. During the old law, Saturday was the day sanctified; 
but the church, instructed by Jesus Christ, and directed by the 
Spirit of God, has substituted Sunday for Saturday; so now 



556 



THE REVELATION. 



we sanctify the first, not the seventh day. Sunday means, and 
now is, the day of the Lord." 

In the Catholic Christian Instructed (J. P. Kenedy, New 
York, 1884), p. 202 we read: — 

" Ques. What warrant have you for keeping the Sunday 
preferable to the ancient Sabbath, which was the Saturday { 

u Ans. We have for it the authority of the Catholic Church, 
and apostolic tradition. 

" Q. Does the Scripture anywhere command the Sunday to 
be kept for the Sabbath ? 

' ' A. The Scripture commands us to hear the church ( Matt. 
18:17; Luke 10:16), and to hold fast the traditions of the 
apostles. 2 Thess. 2 : 15. But the Scriptures do not in par- 
ticular mention this change of the Sabbath.'' 

In the Doctrinal Catechism (Kenedy, New York), p. 171, 
we find further testimony to the same point : — 

' ' Ques. Have you any other way of proving that the church 
has power to institute festivals of precept? 

"Ans. Had she not such power, she could not have done 
that in which all modern religionists agree with her — she 
could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first 
day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh 
day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority." 

In Abridgment of Christian Doctrine (Kenedy, New York), 
p. 58, we find this testimony: — 

" Ques. How prove you that the church hath power to 
command feasts and -holy days ? 

' 6 Ans. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sun- 
day, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly 
contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and break- 
ing most other feasts commanded by the same church. 

' ' Q. How prove you that ? 

u ^4. Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the 
church's power to ordain feasts, and to command them 
under sin." 

And finally, W. Lockhart, late B. A. of Oxford, in the 
Toronto (Catholic) Mirror, offered the following ' * challenge ' ' 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



557 



to all the Protestants of Ireland, — a challenge as well cal- 
culated for this latitude as that. He says : — 

4 ' I do therefore solemnly challenge the Protestants of Ire- 
land to prove, by plain texts of Scripture, these questions 
concerning the obligations of the Christian Sabbath : (1) That 
Christians may work on Saturday, the old seventh day; (2) 
that they are bound to keep holy the first day, namely, Sun- 
day; (3) that they are not bound to keep holy the seventh 
day also." 

This is what the papal power claims to have done respecting 
the fourth commandment. Catholics plainly acknowledge that 
there is no Scriptural authority for the change they have made, 
but that it rests wholly upon the authority of the church; and 
they claim it as a token, or mark, of the authority of that 
church ; the " very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday " 
being set forth as proof of its power in this respect. For fur- 
ther testimony on this point, the reader is referred to a tract 
published at the Review Office, Battle Creek, Mich., entitled 
Who Changed the Sabbath \ in which are also extracts 
from Catholic writers refuting the arguments usually relied 
upon to prove the Sunday Sabbath, and showing that its only 
authority is the Catholic Church. 

"But," says one, "I supposed that Christ changed the 
Sabbath." A great many suppose so, and it is natural that 
they should; for they have been so taught. And while we 
have no words of denunciation to utter against any such 
persons for so believing, we would have them at once under- 
stand that it is, in reality, one of the most enormous of errors. 
We would therefore remind such persons that, according to the 
prophecy, the only change ever to be made in the law of God, 
was to be made by the little horn of Daniel 7, the man of sin 
of .2 Thessalonians 2; and the only change that has been made 
in it, is the change of the Sabbath. Now, if Christ made 
this change, he filled the office of the blasphemous power 
spoken of by both Daniel and Paul, — a conclusion sufficiently 
hideous to drive any Christian from the view which leads 
thereto. 



558 



THE REVELATION. 



Why should any one labor to prove that Christ changed 
the Sabbath ? Whoever does this is performing a thankless 
task. The pope will not thank him; for if it is proved that 
Christ wrought this change, then the pope is robbed of his 
badge of authority and power. And no truly enlightened 
Protestant will thank him; for if he succeeds, he only shows 
that the papacy has not done the work which it was predicted 
that it should do, and so that the prophecy has failed, and 
the Scriptures are unreliable. The matter would better stand 
as the prophecy has it, and the claim which the pope un- 
wittingly puts forth would better be granted. When a person 
is charged with any work, and that person steps forth and 
confesses that he has done the work, that is usually considered 
sufficient to settle the matter. So, when the prophecy affirms 
that a certain power shall change the law of God, and in due 
time that very power arises, does the work foretold, and then 
openly claims that he has done it, what need have we of 
further evidence ? The world should not forget that the great 
apostasy foretold by Paul has taken place; that the man of 
sin for long ages held almost a monopoly of Christian teaching 
in the world; that the mystery of iniquity has cast the darkness 
of its shadow and the errors of its doctrines over almost all 
Christendom; and that out of this era of error and darkness 
and corruption, the theology of our day has come. Would it, 
then, be anything strange if there were yet some relics of 
popery to be discarded ere the reformation will be complete % 
A. Campbell (Baptism, p. 15), speaking of the different Prot- 
estant sects, says : — 

"All of them retain in their bosom, — in their ecclesi- 
astical organizations, worship, doctrines, and observances, — 
various relics of popery. They are at best a reformation of 
popery, and only reformations in part. The doctrines and 
traditions of men yet impair the power and progress of the 
gospel in their hands." 

The nature of the change which the little horn has at- 
tempted to effect in the law of God is worthy of notice. True 
to his purpose to exalt himself above God, he undertakes to 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



559 



change that commandment which, of all others, is the funda- 
mental commandment of the law, the one which makes known 
who the lawgiver is, and contains his signature of royalty. 
The fourth commandment does this; no other one does. Four 
others, it is true, contain the word God, and three of them the 
word Lord, also. But who is this Lord God of whom they 
speak ? Without the fourth commandment, it is impossible to 
tell; for idolaters of every grade apply these terms to the mul- 
titudinous objects of their adoration. With the fourth com- 
mandment to point out the Author of the decalogue, the claims 
of every false god are annulled at one stroke; for the God who 
here demands our worship is not any created being, but the 
One who created all things. The maker of the earth and sea, 
the sun, and moon, and all the starry host, the upholder and 
governor of the universe, is the One who claims, and who, 
from his position, has a right to claim, our supreme regard in 
preference to every other object. The commandment which 
makes known these facts is therefore the very one we might 
suppose that power which designed to exalt itself above God 
would undertake to change. God gave the Sabbath as a 
memorial of himself, a weekly reminder to the sons of men 
of his work in creating the heavens and the earth, a great bar- 
rier against atheism and idolatry. It is the signature and seal 
of the law. This the papacy has torn from its place, and 
erected in its stead, on its own authority, another institution, 
designed to serve another purpose. 

This change of the fourth commandment must therefore be 
the change to which the prophecy points, and Sunday-keeping 
must be the mark of the beast ! Some who have long been 
taught to regard this institution with reverence will perhaps 
start back with little less than feelings of horror at this conclu- 
sion. We have not space, nor is this, perhaps, the place, to 
enter into an extended argument on the Sabbath question, and 
an exposition of the origin and nature of the observance of the 
first day of the week. Let us submit this one proposition : If 
the seventh day is still the Sabbath enjoined in the fourth com- 
mandment; if the observance of the first day of the week has 



560 THE REVELATION. 

no foundation whatever in the Scriptures; if this observance 
has been brought in as a Christian institution, and designedly 
put in place of the Sabbath of the decalogue by that power 
which is symbolized by the beast, and placed there as a badge 
and token of its power to legislate for the church, — is it not 
inevitably the mark of the beast ? The answer must be in the 
affirmative. But these hypotheses are all certainties. 1 

It will be said again, Then all Sunday-keepers have the 
mark of the beast; then all the good of past ages who kept this 
day had the mark of the beast; then Luther, Whitefield, the 
Wesleys, and ail who have done a good and noble work of ref- 
ormation, had the mark of the beast; then all the blessings 
that have been poured upon the reformed churches have been 
poured upon those who had the mark of the beast; and all 
- Christians of the present day who are keeping Sunday as the 
Sabbath, have the mark of the beast. We answer, Not so ! 
And we are sorry to say that some professedly religious teach- 
ers, though many times corrected, persist in misrepresenting us 
on this point. We have never so held; we have never so 
taught. Our premises lead to no such conclusions. Give ear : 
The mark and worship of the beast are enforced by the two- 
horned beast. The receiving of the mark of the beast is a 
specific act which the two-horned beast is to cause to be done. 
The third message of Revelation 14 is a warning mercifully 
sent out in advance to prepare the people for the coming 
danger. There can therefore be no worship of the beast, nor 
reception of his mark, such as the prophecy contemplates till it 
is enforced by the two-horned beast. We have seen that inten- 
tion was essential to the change which the papacy has made in 
the law of God, to constitute it the mark of that power; so 
intention is necessary in the adoption of that change to make 
it, on the part of any individual, the reception of that mark. 
In other words, a person must adopt the change knowing it to 
be the work of the beast, and receive it on the authority of 
that power, in opposition to the requirement of God. 



i See History of the Sabbath, and other works on the subject, published at the 
Review Office. To these we can only refer the reader, in passing. 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



561 



But how is it with those mentioned above, who have kept 
Sunday in the past, and the majority of those who are keeping 
it to-day ? Do they keep it as an institution of the papacy ? — 
No. Have they decided between this and the Sabbath of our 
Lord, understanding the claims of each ? - — No. On what 
ground have they kept it, and on what do they still keep 
it ? — They suppose they are keeping a commandment of God. 
Have such the mark of the beast? — By no means. Then- 
course is attributable to an error unwittingly received from the 
Church of Eome, not to an act of worship rendered to it. 

But how is it to be in the future ? The church which is to 
be prepared for the second coming of Christ must be entirely 
free from papal errors and corruptions. A reform must hence 
be made on the Sabbath question. The third angel proclaims 
the commandments of God, leading men to the true in the place 
of the counterfeit. The dragon is stirred, and so controls the 
wicked governments of the earth that all the authority of human 
power shall be exerted to enforce the claims of the man of sin. 
Then the issue is fairly before the people. They are required 
to keep, on the one hand, the true Sabbath; on the other, 
a counterfeit. For refusing to keep the true, the message 
threatens the unmingled wrath of God ; for refusing the false, 
earthly governments threaten them with persecution and death. 
With this issue before the people, what does he do who yields 
to the human requirement ? — He virtually says to God, I know 
your claims, but I will not heed them. I know that the power 
I am required to worship is anti- Christian, but I yield to it to 
save my life. I renounce your allegiance, and bow to the 
usurper. The beast is henceforth the object of my adoration; 
under his banner, in opposition to your authority, I henceforth 
array myself; to him, in defiance of your claims, I henceforth 
yield the obedience of my heart and life. 

Such is the spirit which will actuate the hearts of the beast- 
worshipers, — a spirit which insults the God of the universe to 
his face, and is prevented only by lack of power from over- 
throwing his government and annihilating his throne. Is it 
any wonder that Jehovah denounces against so Heaven-daring 
36 



562 



THE REVELATION. 



a course the most terrible threatening that his word con- 
tains \ 

13. The Closing Work. — We have now seen what would 
properly constitute an image to the beast, such as the two- 
horned beast is to erect, and also the probability that such an 
image will soon be perfected in this country ; and we have 
also learned what constitutes the mark of the beast, which is to 
be enforced upon all the people. An ecclesiastical organization 
composed of a greater or less number of the different sects of 
our land, with some degree of coalition also between these 
bodies and Roman Catholicism, together with the promulga- 
tion and enforcement of a general Sunday-Sabbath law, would 
fulfil what the prophecy sets forth in reference to the image 
and the mark of the beast; and these movements, or their 
exact equivalent, the prophecy calls for. The line of argument 
leading to these conclusions is so direct and well-defined that 
there is no avoiding them. They are a clear and logical 
sequence from the premises given us. 

When the application of Rev. 13 : 11-17 to the United 
States was first made, as early as the year 1850, these posi- 
tions respecting a union of the churches and a grand Sunday 
movement were taken. But at that time no sign appeared 
above or beneath, at home or abroad, — no token was seen, 
no indication existed, that such an issue would ever be made. 
But there was the prophecy, and that must stand. The United 
States government had given abundant evidence, by its loca- 
tion, the time of its rise, the manner of its rise, and its apparent 
character, that it was the power symbolized by the two-horned 
beast. There could be no mistake in the conclusion that it was 
the very nation intended by that symbol. This being so, it 
must take the course and perform the acts foretold. But here 
were predictions which could be fulfilled by nothing less than 
the above-named movement respecting church and state, and 
the enforcement of the papal Sabbath as a mark of the beast. 

To take the position at that time that this government was 
to pursue such a policy and engage in such a work, without any 
apparent probability in its favor, was no small act of faith. On 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 563 

the other hand, to deny or ignore it, while admitting the appli- 
cation of the symbol to this government, would not be in ac- 
cordance with either Scripture or logic. The only course for 
the humble, confiding student of prophecy to pursue in such 
cases is to take the light as it is given, and believe the prophecy 
in all its parts. So the stand was boldly taken; and open proc- 
lamation has been made from that day to this, that such a work 
would be seen in the United States. With every review of the 
argument, new features of strength have been discovered in 
the application; and amid a storm of scornful incredulity we 
have watched the progress of events, and awaited the hour of 
fulfilment. 

Meanwhile, Spiritualism has astonished the world with its 
terrible progress, and shown itself to be the wonder-working 
element which was to exist in connection with this power. This 
has mightily strengthened the force of the application. And 
now, within a few years past, what have we further seen ? — No 
less than the commencement of that very movement respecting 
the formation of the image, and the enactment of Sunday laws, 
which we have so long expected, and which is to complete the 
prophecy and close the scene. 

Reference has already been made to the movement to secure 
a union of the churches for the purpose of adding strength and 
influence to ecclesiastical movements in certain directions. And 
now a class of men is suddenly springing up all over the land 
whose souls are absorbed with the cognate idea of Sunday re- 
form, and who have dedicated themselves, heads, hands, and 
pockets, to the carrying forward of this kindred movement. 
Organizations called Sabbath Committees have been formed in 
various places, and have labored zealously, by means of books, 
tracts, speeches, and sermons, to create a strong public senti- 
ment in behalf of Sunday. Making slow progress through moral 
suasion, they seek a shorter path to the accomplishment of their 
purposes through political power. And why not 1 Christianity 
has become popular, and her professed adherents are numerous. 
Why not avail themselves of the power of the ballot to secure 
their ends? Rev. J. S. Smart (Methodist), in a published ser- 



564 



THE REVELATION. 



mon on the Political Duties of Christian Men and Ministers, 
expresses a leading sentiment on this question, when he says : — 

c ' I claim that we have, and ought to have, just as much 
concern in the government of this country as any other men. 
. . . We are the mass of the people. Virtue in this country 
is not weak; her ranks are strong in numbers, and invincible 
from the righteousness of her cause, — invincible if united. Let 
not her ranks be broken by party names." 

In accordance with the logical development of these feel- 
ings, an association has been formed, now called u The National 
Reform Association," which has for its object the securing of 
legal enactments for religious institutions, by means of such 
an amendment to the national Constitution as shall ''place all 
Christian laws, institutions, and usages of the government on 
an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land." 
Here is the germ of religious revolution, the entering wedge of 
church and state. 

This movement originated at Xenia, Ohio, in February, 
1863, in a convention composed of eleven different religious 
denominations, who assembled for prayer and conference. 

To be sure the leaders in this movement disclaim vehe- 
mently any such purpose as a union of church and state; but 
a sentence now and then escapes them which reveals more than 
they intended. Thus, in the Pittsburgh Convention, Dr. Ste- 
venson said : — 

' ' Through the immense largesses it receives from corrupt 
politicians, the Roman Catholic Church is, practically, the es- 
tablished church of the city of New York. These favors are 
granted under the guise of a seeming friendliness to religion. 
We propose to put the substance for the shadow, — to drive out 
the counterfeit by the completer substitution of the true." 

There are several guess-roads through which we may look 
for the intent of this language; but inasmuch as they all arrive 
at one conclusion, this conclusion is neither ambiguous nor 
doubtful; it is simply that the Protestant Church shall become 
really established, as the Roman Catholic now is practically. 
This is confirmed by the very next sentence, which reads : — 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



565 



"What we propose is nothing of a sectarian character. It 
will give no branch of American Christians any advantage 
over any other." 

Professor Blanchard undertakes to give a definition of what 
they mean by a "union of church and state," as follows: — 

"But union of church and state is the selection by the 
nation of one church, the endowment of such a church, the 
appointment of its officers, and the oversight of its doctrines. 
For such a union, none of us plead. To such a union, we are 
all of us opposed. " 

The reader is requested to mark this well. Here is given a 
definition of a union of church and state, such as no one expects 
or fears; such in fact, as is not possible in the existing state of 
the churches, and then a special plea is set up that they are op- 
posed to a union of church and state ! To such an impossible 
combination as they describe, they may safely write themselves 
opposed; but to a union of church and state in the popular 
sense of the phrase, — a union, not of one church, but of all 
the churches recognized as orthodox, or evangelical, — a union 
not giving the state power to elect church officers nor to take 
the oversight of church doctrines, but giving the churches the 
privilege of enforcing, by civil laws, institutions and usages of 
religion, according to the faith of the churches, or to the 
construction put upon those institutions and usages by the 
churches, — to such a union, we say, they are not opposed. 
They are essentially and practically, despite their professions, 
open advocates of a union of church and state. 

We are not alone in this view of the subject. Mr. G. A. 
Townsend (New World and Old, p. 212) says : — 

4 6 Church and state has several times crept into American 
politics, as in the contentions over the Bible in the public 
schools, the anti-Catholic party of 1844, etc. Our people have 
been wise enough heretofore to respect the clergy in all relig- 
ious questions, and to entertain a wholesome jealousy of them 
in politics. The latest politico-theological movement [italics 
ours] is to insert the name of the Deity in the Constitution." 

The Christian Union, January, 1871, said : — 



566 



THE REVELATION. 



6 ' If the proposed amendment is anything more than a bit 
of sentimental cant, it is to have a legal effect. It is to alter 
the status of the non-Christian citizen before the law. It is to 
affect the legal oaths and instruments, the matrimonial con- 
tracts, the sumptuary laws, etc., etc., of the country. This 
would be an outrage on natural right." 

The Janesville (Wis.) Gazette, at the close of an article on 
the proposed amendment, speaks thus of the effect of the 
movement, should it succeed : — 

' ' But, independent of the question as to what extent we 
are a Christian nation, it may well be doubted whether, if the 
gentlemen who are agitating this question should succeed, they 
would not do society a very great injury Such measures are 
but the initiatory steps which ultimately lead to restrictions of 
religious freedom, and to commit the government to measures 
which are as foreign to its powers and purposes as would be its 
action if it should undertake to determine a disputed question 
of theology." 

The Weekly Alta California^, of San Francisco, March 12, 
1870, said: — 

' 6 The parties who have been recently holding a convention 
for the somewhat novel purpose of procuring an amendment to 
the Constitution of the United States recognizing the Deity, do 
not fairly state the case when they assert that it is the right of 
a Christian people to govern themselves in a Christian manner. 
If we are not governing ourselves in a Christian manner, how 
shall the doings of our government be designated ? The fact 
is, that the movement is one to bring about in this country 
that union of church and state which all other nations are 
trying to dissolve." 

The Champlain Journal, speaking of incorporating the re- 
ligious principle into the Constitution, and its effect upon the 
Jews, said : — 

' < However slight, it is the entering wedge of church and 
state. If we may cut off ever so few persons from the right 
of citizenship on account of difference of religious belief, then 
with equal justice and propriety may a majority at any time 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



567 



dictate the adoption of still further articles of belief, until our 
Constitution is but a text-book of a sect, beneath whose tyran- 
nical sway all liberty of religious opinion toill he crushed." 

Petitions and remonstrances are both being circulated with 
activity; and shrewd observers, who have watched the move- 
ment with a jealous eye, and heretofore hoped it would amount 
to nothing, now confess that it < 'is formidable." No move- 
ment of equal magnitude of purpose has ever sprung up and 
become strong, and secured favor so rapidly as this. Indeed, 
none of equal magnitude has ever been sprung upon the Ameri- 
can mind, as this aims to remodel the whole framework of our 
government, and give to it a strong religious cast, — a thing 
which the framers of our Constitution were careful to exclude 
from it. They not only ask that the Bible, God, and Christ 
shall be recognized in the Constitution, but that it shall indi- 
cate this as " a Christian nation, and place all Christian laws, 
institutions, and usages of the government, on an undeniable 
legal basis in the fundamental law of the nation." 

Of course, appropriate legislation will be required to carry 
such amendments into effect, and somebody will have to decide 
what are "Christian laws and institutions." From what we 
learn of such movements in the past in other countries, and of 
the temper of the churches of this country, and of human 
nature when it has power suddenly conferred upon it, we look 
for no good from this movement. From a lengthy article 
in the Lansing (Mich.) State Republican in reference to the 
Cincinnati Convention, held in 1872, we take the following 
extract : — 

"Now there are hundreds and thousands of moral and pro- 
fessedly Christian people in this nation to-day who do not 
recognize the doctrine of the Trinity, — do not recognize Jesus 
Christ the same as God. And there are hundreds and thou- 
sands of men and women who do not recognize the Bible as 
the revelation of God. The attempt to make any such amend- 
ment to the Constitution would be regarded by a large minor- 
ity, perhaps a majority, of our nation as a palpable violation of 
liberty of conscience. Thousands of men, if called upon to 



568 



THE REVELATION. 



vote for such an amendment, would hesitate to vote against 
God, although they might not believe that the amendment is 
necessary or that it is right; and such men would either vote 
affirmatively or not at all. In every case, such an amendment 
would be likely to receive an affirmative vote which would by 
no means indicate the true sentiment of the people. And the 
same rule would hold good in relation to the adoption of such 
an amendment by Congress or by the legislatures of three 
quarters of the States. Men who make politics a trade would 
hesitate to record their names against the proposed Constitu- 
tional Amendment, advocated by the leaders of the great relig- 
ious denominations of the land, and endorsed by such men as 
Bishop Simpson, Bishop Mc Ilvaine, Bishop Eastburn, Presi- 
dent Finney, Professor Lewis, Professor Seelye, Bishop Hunt- 
- ington, Bishop Kerfoot, Dr. Patterson, Dr. Cuyler, and many 
other divines who are the representative men of their respective 
denominations." 

Among the first bills to be presented to the United States 
Congress on its assembling in December, 1895, was this same 
religious amendment of the Constitution. This shows the 
unmitigated persistence with which this matter is to be pressed. 

Not only the representative men of the churches are pledged 
to this movement, but governors, judges, and many of the most 
eminent men of the land, are working for it. Who doubts the 
power of the ' ' representative men of the denominations ' ' to 
rally the strength of their denominations to sustain this work at 
their call ? We utter no prophecy of the future; it is not needed. 
Events transpire in these days faster than our minds are pre- 
pared to grasp them. Let us heed the admonition to " watch ! " 
and, with reliance upon God, prepare for "those things which 
are coming on the earth." 

But it may be asked how the Sunday question is to be 
affected by the proposed Constitutional Amendment. Answer : 
The object, or, to say the least, one object of this amendment, 
is to put the Sunday institution on a legal basis, and compel its 
observance by the arm of the law. At the national convention 
held in Philadelphia, Jan. 18, 19, 1871, the following resolu- 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



569 



tion was among the first offered by the business committee : — 

' ' Resolved, That, in view of the controlling power of the 
Constitution in shaping State as well as national policy, it is 
of immediate importance to public morals and to social order, 
to secure such an amendment as will indicate that this is a 
Christian nation, and place all Christian laws 9 institutions, and 
usages in our government on an undeniable legal basis in the 
fundamental law of the nation, specially those which secure a 
proper oath, and which protect society against blasphemy, Sab- 
bath-breaking, and polygamy. ' ' 

By Sabbath-breaking is meant nothing else but Sunday- 
breaking. In a convention of the friends of Sunday, assembled 
Nov. 29, 1870, in New Concord, Ohio, one of the speakers is 
reported to have said : < ' The question [of Sunday observance] 
is closely connected with the National Eeform Movement; for 
until the government comes to know God and honor his law, 
we need not expect to restrain Sabbath-breaking corporations." 
Here, again, the idea of the legal enforcement of Sunday ob- 
servance stands foremost; and the same principle would apply 
equally to individuals. 

Once more : the Philadelphia Press of Dec, 5, 1870, stated 
that some congressmen arrived in Washington by Sunday trains, 
December 1, on which the Christian Statesman commented as 
follows (we give italics as we find them) : — 

"1. Not one of those men to ho thus violated the Sabbath is 
fit to hold any official position in a Christian nation , . , . 

" 2. The sin of these congressmen is a national sin, because 
the nation hath not said to them in the Constitution, the supreme 
rule for our public servants, ' We charge you to serve us in ac- 
cordance with the higher law of God.' These Sabbath-breaking 
railroads, moreover, are corporations created by the state, ■ and 
amenable to it. The state is responsible to God for the conduct 
of these creatures which it calls into being. It is bound, there- 
fore, to restrain them from this as from other crimes, and any 
violation of the Sabbath by any corporation should work im- 
mediate forfeiture of its charter. And the Constitution of the 
United States, with which all State legislation is required to 



570 



THE REVELATION. 



be in harmony, should be of such a character as to prevent 
any State from tolerating such infractions of fundamental 
moral law. 

< 4 3. Give us in the national Constitution the simple acknowl- 
edgment of the law of God- as the supreme law of nations, and 
all the results indicated in this note toill ultimately he secured. 
Let no one say that the movement does not contemplate suffi- 
ciently practical ends." 

No less significant is the fact that the Sunday agitation is 
appearing in other countries simultaneously with the Sunday 
movement in America. Who can explain the fact that Sunday 
seems everywhere coming to the front, except on the ground 
that we have reached the time pointed out in prophecy when 
such a movement should be seen ? The Chester (Eng.) Chronicle 
of July 9, 1881, reported a meeting of three thousand persons 
in Liverpool in favor of closing all public houses on Sunday. 
The Christian Statesman of July 22, 1880, gave information 
from England to the effect that a "Working-man's Lord's-day 
Rest Association" had been formed there, and that two of 
England's prime ministers, Beaconsfield and Gladstone, had 
given their voice against the opening of museums, etc., on 
Sunday. The same policy is enforced by some, at least, of the 
English in their dependencies. One of the first acts of the 
Marquis of Ripon, who was made viceroy of India in 1880, 
was, according to the Christian Weekly, to issue an order for- 
bidding official work of any kind on Sunday. 

In France the question is also agitated. The senate having 
occasion to consider some proposed changes in the Sunday 
laws, an eminent senator, M. Barthelemy Saint Hilaire, accord- 
ing to the French journal, Le Christianisme au 19 e Steele, of 
June 11, 1880, opened the eyes of his hearers by clear argu- 
ment showing that the seventh day, and not the first day, is 
the Sabbath of the Bible. 

In Switzerland and Germany also this question is before 
the people. In the latter country, according to the New York 
Independent, a meeting was held a few years ago, numbering 
some five thousand persons, to encourage a more strict observ- 
ance of Sunday. Many of these were socialists. 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



571 



Austria also shares in the general movement. A New 
York paper, in January, 1883, published this item : — 

' ' A telegram from Vienna, Austria, says : ' A meeting of 
3000 workmen was held to-day, at which a resolution was 
passed protesting against Sunday work. A resolution was 
also passed in favor of legal prohibition of newspaper and 
other work on that day.' " 

There is a local Sabbath [Sunday] Committee in many 
of the great cities, and an International Sabbath [Sunday] 
Association to secure the co-operation of other nations. This 
Association has its headquarters in Washington, D. C. 

Another organization, called The American Sabbath Union, 
has come into existence to forward the movement in behalf of 
Sunday observance; and other reform organizations have swung 
into the same line. Notable among these is the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union, which has great strength in the 
United States, and many auxiliaries in other lands, as well. 
This organization, having at first in view the one specific object 
of temperance reform, has now added to its declared intention, 
the enthroning of Christ in American politics, in order to 
secure, in this land, a theocracy, and the better observance 
of the Sunday. In this theocracy, of course, if established, 
theological leaders would be the interpreters of Christ's will, 
and their decisions be enforced upon the people by the civil 
law. And what would this be but the papacy over again, 
well called in the prophecy ' ' an image ' ' of that beast ? 

What these National Reformers desire and design to secure 
in their campaign, is expressed by one of the secretaries of 
said association, F. M. Foster, in the Christian Statesman, 
October, 1892. He says : — 

"But one danger lies in this : The church does not speak 
as a church. The American Sabbath Union has done a good 
work. The denominations have spoken. But the Christian 
organized church has not officially gone to Washington and 
spoken. The work there has been largely turned over to 
associations. But the voice of God, authoritative, official, is 
through his church. Should there not be joint action of the 



572 



THE REVELATION. 



denominations in this ? They should, it would appear, appoint 
a joint committee to speak for God; and properly and coura- 
geously done, there can follow but the very best results. . . . 
Much is lost by the church failing officially to speak at the 
right time, and in the right place. No association is clothed 
with this authority. They are individual and social; but the 
church is divine. She can, and ought to, utter the voice of 
God in the halls of Congress, as an organized church." 

The italics are as we find them; but other declarations in 
the foregoing extract, are equally deserving of emphasis. It 
may well be questioned whether any more arrogant and pom- 
pous words were uttered previous to the setting up of the papacy 
itself. What they complain that they lack, they of course 
intend to have. And look at the picture : The church ( that is 
the different denominations, confederating on dogmas held in 
common, and represented by a 4 'joint committee," — a cen- 
tral authority ) is divine, and woe unto all dissenters from the 
authority of a divine church! So said Rome in its palmiest 
days of dungeons, stakes, and blood; so she would say to-day 
had she the power; and so apostatized Protestantism will say 
when it gets the power ! And this "joint committee" is to 
" speak for God," " utter the voice of God " (a second vicege- 
rent of the Most High, now claimed as a monopoly by the 
pope), and authoritatively and officially, lay upon Congress 
the commands of God, for it to perform ! Such are the dark 
schemes for which these men are now working. Alas ! that the 
realization of them should now stand as an attainable prospect 
before their eyes ! Did ever Rome ask for more 2 And when 
these would-be spokesmen for God secure their object, will it 
not be, we still ask, Rome over again in a Protestant garb — a 
very image of the beast itself ? 

Another most significant and alarming step toward the 
accomplishment of these evil designs, is the position taken by 
the great "Christian Endeavor" movement, which has risen 
to a membership of millions within a few years, and is a com- 
mon channel through which all denominations can work. The 
political functions of this great body are centered in a " Chris- 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



573 



tian Citizenship League, " which boasts that it will have branches 
in every State, county, city, village, and hamlet, in the United 
States, and see to it that only Christian men are put into office. 
What remarkable ' ' conversions ' ' will then take place ! How 
politicians will become ''Christians," and the "millennium" 
hasten on ! At the great Christian Endeavor convention, held 
in Boston, Mass., July 10-15, 1895, W. H. McMillan, as 
given in the published Proceedings, p. 19, said: — 

' ' Here is a power that is going to wrest the control of 
affairs from the hands of political demagogues, and place it in 
the hands of Him who is King over all, and rules the world in 
righteousness. Our political leaders have been counting the 
saloon vote, the illiterate vote, and the stay-at-home vote, and 
all other elements that have hitherto entered into their can- 
vassings of probabilities; but they have not yet learned to 
count the Christian Endeavor vote. I want to serve notice 
on them now that the time is drawing near when they will 
discover that a political revolution has occurred, and they will 
be found coming home from Washington and our State capitals 
without a job. " 

These sentiments were cheered to the echo in the conven- 
tion; and it is not difficult to foresee the effect they will have; 
for they were intended for that class of men among whom they 
u will do the most good," that is, the body of average politi- 
cians, who when threatened with a boycott, become the most 
abject sycophants on the face of the earth. 

All this, however, would be of no avail, if those who are 
really patriots at heart would awake to this danger before they 
find themselves committed to movements, the effects of which 
they did not foresee, and if the two houses of Congress would 
stand true to the Constitution which they are sworn to main- 
tain; for this movement means nothing less than a subversion 
of that noble instrument. 

But alas ! Congress has already turned its back on its 
sacred trust to fawn upon the church influence so rapidly 
rising. When the managers of the World's Fair of 1893, 
in Chicago, asked Congress for an appropriation in their 



574 



THE REVELATION. 



behalf, churchmen brought their influence to bear upon the 
national legislators, and induced them to make it a condition 
of the gift that the gates of the Fair be closed on Sunday. In 
carrying this point a most remarkable scene occurred. A sena- 
tor called for a Bible and caused the clerk to read the fourth 
commandment of the decalogue; whereupon grave statesmen 
argued, and at length by vote decided, that the day enjoined 
by that commandment as the Sabbath, is Sunday ! 

This was legislating upon a religious question, which the 
Constitution expressly forbids. (See Amendment I.) It broke 
down the barriers against the union of church and state, and 
opened the flood-gates for all the evils that invariably ac- 
company such a union. The religious-amendment clergy hailed 
the event as a great triumph, and now openly boast that they 
have Congress in their hands, and can compel it to do their bid- 
ding. How far away, then, is that 1 ' image, ' ' the coming of 
which the Scriptures have foretold ? The outlines of every 
element necessary for its erection are clearly developed; all 
the agents sufficient for an assault upon the bulwarks of Ameri- 
can liberty are being rapidly enrolled and drilled; the outposts 
have already been carried; and as these pages go to press, the 
leaders of this fatal revolution are again clamoring around the 
citadel of the nation's strength. It needs but another step to 
turn the nation entirely from its high commission as the con- 
servator of the principles of the gospel ; that is, to "render to 
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things 
that are God's," and lead it to form and foster a religious 
tyranny which will fetter the consciences of men, and crush 
out soul liberty among the people. And this tyranny will be 
as much more wicked than any that has gone before it, as 
men have now more light, and the experience of all the past 
to guide them. 

What the practical working of these changes will be is 
already made apparent. On the statute-books of most of the 
States of the American Union, are found Sunday laws; and as 
the agitation in behalf of the seventh day increases, religious 
zealots are not slow to use these laws to put the machinery of 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



575 



persecution in operation. Observers of the seventh day mani- 
fest no defiance of these laws, in laboring on Sunday, as the 
higher law of God gives them an unalienable right to do; 
and they studiously refrain from disturbing others, or in any 
way infringing upon their rights, by boisterous or offensive 
labor. Yet it is construed to be "disturbance," if they are 
even seen anywhere at work, or even if it is known that they 
are at work anywhere, though unseen or unheard. If no other 
way appears for detection, they are searched out by ministers 
or church-members, or the police acting under their direction. 
Then follow arrest, conviction, and penalty by fine, imprison- 
ment, or the chain-gang. Up to Jan. 1, 1896, ninety arrests of 
this kind had been made, some of them under circumstances 
of great oppression and cruelty, and prisoners had served an 
aggregate of nearly fifteen hundred days in jail and chain- 
gangs. And from the windows of some of these jails these 
very seventh-day keepers, who were there confined in ' ' durance 
vile," for not resting on Sunday, could behold on Sundays 
train-loads of workmen going to their labor, picnickers to 
their frolic, hunters to their game, and railroad cars to their 
traffic. But these, it is to be observed, were not keepers of 
the seventh day. National Reformers, years ago, professed to 
smile at the apprehensions of those who keep the seventh day, 
that their work would result in persecution. Now they only 
smile a little more grimly and call for stricter laws — for the 
seventh -day people. 

Most of the State governments have in their constitutions, 
or in their adopted <■ ' Bill of flights, ' ' provisions guaranteeing 
the fullest religious liberty ; and the inconsistency of legislating 
on religious questions, under these circumstances, is at once 
seen; while the treachery of oppressing people for opinion's 
sake, in such lands, is keenly felt. Every conceivable inven- 
tion is therefore resorted to, to make it appear that it is not 
religious persecution at all, but only the question of obedience 
to civil, law. One of these inventions is that Sunday is only a 
civil institution, and its enforcement only a police regulation, a 
civil requirement necessary for the public good. But this is 



576 THE REVELATION. 

impossible; for every one knows that Sunday in its origin, his- 
tory, and very nature, is a religious institution. No claims in 
its behalf would ever have been heard of, but for its religious 
basis. Hence any enactment to enforce it by pains and pen- 
alties is religious legislation and religious oppression. 

But if there is a law for it, should not that law be obeyed 
until repealed ? Every law that does not trench upon the do- 
main of conscience, if it becomes unacceptable to the people, 
should nevertheless be obeyed, till it can be changed or re- 
pealed. But Sunday laws interfere with the conscience of the 
observer of another day, and for that reason cannot "bear upon 
all alike. ' 5 And no true Christian can make his obedience to 
God depend upon the permission of his fellow men. It may 
be said again, In a country like the United States, do not major- 
. ities rule ? and must not their decisions be obeyed ? And the 
answer again is, Yes, in everything but questions of conscience, 
but never there. " Render . . . unto Caesar the things that are 
Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." Men may 
legislate to guard the mutual rights of all members of society, 
but no further; and in this they will never infringe upon the 
rights of any one's conscience; for a "good" conscience 
(1 Peter 3 : 21) will never invade the rights of others, like 
the polygamy of the Mormons, or the human sacrifices of the 
heathen. 

The founders of the American republic never intended that 
any trouble should arise, through the laws of the land, over any 
question of conscience; but they permitted the evil principle of 
religious laws to remain in their political structure, a principle 
sure to spring to life at the first opportunity. In the further 
development of religious truth, it is now found that these laws 
forbid men to render obedience to what the Bible requires of 
them, and thus conflict with their unalienable rights. Such laws, 
therefore, the Christian cannot regard, and the government, 
to be true to its professed principles, should wipe them off 
the statute-books wherever found. But this the religio-political 
clergy will not permit; and the nation is doomed; for it will 
thus put itself in line with the religious despotisms of the past; 



CHAPTER 13, VERSES 11-17. 



577 



and the cry will go up from God's suffering children, "It is 
time for thee, Lord, to work : for they have made void thy 
law." Ps. 119 : 126. 

And this work is not confined to America. In Switzerland, 
by an iniquitous application of a so-called ''Factory Law," in 
behalf of Sunday, the authorities have closed the large printing 
establishment of the Seventh-day Adventists, although state 
troops drill, and target practice is performed, on Sunday, with 
all the accompaniments of such exercises, in the campus im- 
mediately in front of the building. This has been repeated in 
London, where the office of a Seventh-day Adventist paper, 
The Present Truth, has been closed by the English authorities, 
on the same grounds. 

While, according to the prophecy, the "image" can be 
looked for only in the United States, the worship of the beast 
will prevail in other countries also; for all the world is to won- 
der after the beast. 

Some one may now say, As you expect this movement to 
carry, you must look for a period of religious persecution in 
the United States; nay, more, you must take the position that 
all the saints of God are to be put to death; for the image is to 
cause that all who will not worship it shall be killed. 

A period of persecution has been, for about fifty years 
expected and predicted. It has now begun and is thus demon- 
strating the correctness of the application of the prophecy 
as set forth in this work; but it does not by any means 
follow that all, and we do' not think that even many, will 
be put to death, though a decree to that effect will be pro- 
mulgated; for, as the prophet elsewhere declares, God does 
not abandon his people to defeat in this dire conflict, but grants 
them a complete victory over the beast, his image, his mark, 
and the number of his name. Kev. 15 : 2. We further read 
respecting this earthly power, that he causeth all to receive a 
mark in their right hand or in their foreheads; yet chapter 20 : 4 
speaks of the people of God as those who do not receive the 
mark, nor worship the image. If, then, he could " cause " all 
to receive the mark, and yet all not actually receive it, in like 
37 



578 



THE REVELATION. 



manner his causing all to be put to death who will not worship 
the image does not necessarily signify that their lives are 
actually to be taken. 

But how can this be ? Answer : It evidently comes under 
that rule of interpretation in accordance with which verbs of 
action sometimes signify merely the will and endeavor to do 
the action in question, and not the actual performance of the 
thing specified. The late George Bush, Professor of Hebrew 
and Oriental Literature in New York City University, makes 
this matter plain. In his notes on Ex. 7:11 he says : — 

" It is a canon of interpretation of frequent use in the ex- 
position of the sacred writings that verbs of action sometimes 
signify merely the will and endeavor to do the action in ques- 
tion. Thus in Eze. 24 : 13 : 'I have purified thee, and thou 
wast not purged;' i. e., I have endeavored, used means, been 
at pains, to purify thee. John 5 : 41 : * How can ye believe 
which receive honor one of another; ' i. e., endeavor to receive. 
Rom. 2:4: ' The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance; ' 
i. e. , endeavors, or tends, to lead thee. Amos 9:3: ' Though 
they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea ; ' i. e. , 
though they aim to be hid. 1 Cor. 10 : 33 : ' 1 please all men ; ' 
i. e. , endeavor to please. Gal. 5:4: ' Whosoever of you are 
justified by the law; ' i. e., seek or endeavor to be justified. 
Ps. 69 : 4 : ' They that destroy me are mighty; ' i. e., that en- 
deavor to destroy me; English, 'That would destroy me.' 
Acts 7 : 26 : £ And set them at one again : ' i. e., wished and 
endeavored, English, ' Would have set them.' " 

So in the passage before us. He causes all to receive a 
mark, and all who will not worship the image to be killed ; 
that is, he wills, purposes, and endeavors to do this. He 
makes such an enactment, passes such a law, but is not able 
to execute it; for God interposes in behalf of his people; and 
then those who have kept the word of Christ's patience are 
kept from falling in this hour of temptation, according to Rev. 
3 : 10 ; then those who have made God their refuge are kept 
from all evil, and no plague comes nigh their dwelling, accord- 
ing to Ps. 91 : 9, 10; then all who are found written in the 



CHAPTER 13, VERSE 18. 



579 



book are delivered, according to Dan. 12:1; and, being 
victors over the beast and his image, they are redeemed from 
among men, and raise a song of triumph before the throne of 
God, according to Rev. 14 : 2-4. 

The objector may further say, You are altogether too 
credulous in supposing that the masses of our people, many of 
whom are either indifferent or wholly opposed to the claims of 
religion, can be so far brought to favor the religious observance 
of Sunday that a general law can be promulgated in its behalf. 

We answer, The prophecy must be fulfilled, and if the 
prophecy requires such a revolution, it will be accomplished. 

To receive the mark of the beast in the forehead, is, we un- 
derstand, to give the assent of the mind and judgment to his 
authority in the adoption of that institution which constitutes 
the mark. By parity of reasoning, to receive it in the hand 
would be to signify allegiance by some outward act. 1 

Verse 18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count 
the number of the beast : for it is the number of a man ; and his number 
is Six hundred threescore and six. 

The Number of his Name. — The number of the beast, says 
the prophecy, < ' is the number of a man ; and his number is Six 
hundred threescore and six" ( 666). This number, some at- 
tempt to find in the word Lateinos, the "Latin" kingdom. 
Thus they make, by what rule we do not understand, L stand 
for 30; A, for 1; T, for 300; E, for 5; I, for 10; N, for 50; 
O, for 70; and S, for 200; which numbers, added together, 
make 666. Deriving the number from the name in this man- 
ner, must be regarded as rather conjectural than otherwise, see- 
ing that names making just that number can be found to almost 
any extent. We think we discover, however, a serious objection 
to the name here suggested. The number, says the prophecy, 
is the number of a man ; and if it is to be derived from a name 
or title, the natural conclusion would be that it must be the 



i For a much more lull exposition of this portion of the prophecy, see works 
entitled, The United States in the Light of Prophecy, and The Coming Conflict, 
published at the Review and Herald Office, Battle Creek, Mich. 



580 



THE REVELATION. 



name or title of some particular man. But in this we have 
the name of a people, or kingdom, not of ''a man," as the 
prophecy says. 

The most plausible name we have ever seen suggested as 
containing the number of the beast, is the title which the pope 
applies to himself, and allows others to apply to him. That 
title is this : Vicarius Filii Dei, 6 ' Vicegerent of the Son of 
God." Taking the letters out of this title which the Latins 
used as numerals, and giving them their numerical value, we 
have just 666. Thus we have Y, 5; I, 1; C, 100 (a and r 
not used as numerals); I, 1; U (formerly the same as V), 5; 
(s and f not used as numerals); I, 1; L, 50; I, 1; I, 1; D, 
500; {e not used as a numeral); I, 1. Adding these numbers 
together, we have just 666. 

The following extract on this point is from a work entitled 
The Reformation, bearing the date of 1832 : — 

" ' Mrs. A.,' said Miss Emmons, ' I saw a very curious fact 
the other day; I have dwelt upon it much, and will mention it. 
A person, lately, was witnessing a ceremony of the Romish 
Church As the pope passed him in the procession, splendidly 
dressed in his pontifical robes, the gentleman's eye rested on 
these full, blazing letters in front of his miter : ' ' VICARIUS 
FILII DEI," the Vicar of the Son of God. His thoughts, 
with the rapidity of lightning, reverted to Rev. 13:18.' 
' Will you turn to it ( 5 said Mrs. A. Alice opened the New 
Testament, and read : ' Let him that hath understanding count 
the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and 
his number is Six hundred threescore and six.' She paused, 
and Miss Emmons said, ' He took out his pencil, and marking 
the numerical letters of the inscription on his tablet, it stood 
666." 

Here we have indeed the number of a man, even the " man 
of sin;" and it is a little singular, perhaps providential, that 
he should select a title which shows the blasphemous character 
of the beast, and then cause it to be inscribed upon his miter, 
as if to brand himself with the number 666. The foregoing 
extract doubtless refers to a particular pope on a particular 



CHAPTER 13, VERSE 18. 



581 



occasion. Other popes might not wear the title emblazoned 
on the miter, as there stated. But this does not affect the ap- 
plication at all; for the popes all assume to be the "Vicar of 
Christ" (see Standard Dictionary under "vicar") and the 
Latin words given above, are the words which express that 
title, in the form "vicar of the Son of God;" and their nu- 
merical value is 666. 

Thus closes chapter 13, leaving the people of God with the 
powers of earth in deadly array against them, and the decrees 
of death and banishment from society out upon them, for their 
adherence to the truth. Spiritualism will be, at the time 
specified, performing its most imposing wonders, deceiving all 
the world except the elect. Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:8-12. 
This will be the "hour of temptation," or trial, which is to 
come, as the closing test, upon all the world, to try them that 
dwell upon the earth as mentioned in Rev. 3 : 10. What is 
the issue of this conflict ? This important inquiry is not left 
unanswered. The first five verses of the following chapter, 
which should have been numbered as a part of this, complete 
the chain of this prophecy, and reveal the glorious triumph of 
the champions of the truth. 




Verse 1. And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and 
with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father's 
name written in their foreheads. 2. And I heard a voice from heaven, as 
the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder : and I heard 
the voice of harpers harping with their harps : 3. And they sung as it 
were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the 
elders : and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and 
four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 4. These are they 
which were not defiled with women ; for they are virgins. These are they 
which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed 
from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb. 5. And 
in their mouth was found no guile : for they are without fault before the 
throne of God. 

"if T is a pleasing feature of the prophetic word that the people 
ll* of God are never brought into positions of trial and diffi- 
- culty, and there abandoned. Taking them down into scenes 
of danger, the voice of prophecy does not there cease, leaving 
them to guess their fate, in doubt, perhaps despair, as to the 
final result; but it takes them through to the end, and shows the 
issue in every conflict. The first five verses of Revelation 14 
are an instance of this. The 13th chapter closed with the people 
of God, a small and apparently weak and defenseless company, 
in deadly conflict with the mightiest powers of earth which the 
dragon is able to muster to his service. A decree is passed, 
backed up by the supreme power of the land, that they shall 
worship the image and receive the mark, under pain of death if 



[582] 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 1-5. 



583 



they refuse to comply. What can the people of God do in such 
a conflict and in such an extremity? What will become of thein^ 
Glance forward with the apostle to the very next scene in the 
program, and what do we behold ? — The very same company 
standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb, — a victorious company, 
harping on symphonious harps their triumph in the court of 
heaven. Thus are we assured that when the time of our conflict 
with the powers of darkness comes, deliverance is not only cer- 
tain, but will immediately be given. 

That the 114:, 000 here seen on Mount Zion are the saints 
who were just before brought to view as objects of the wrath 
of the beast and his image, there are the very best of reasons 
for believing. 

1. They are identical with those sealed in Revelation 7, who 
have already been shown to be the righteous who are alive at 
the second coming of Christ. 

2. They are the overcomers in the sixth or Philadelphian 
state of the church. (See Rev. 3:11, 12.) 

3. They are tk redeemed from among men" (verse 4), an 
expression which can be applicable only to those who are trans- 
lated from among the living. Paul labored, if by any means 
he might attain to a resurrection out from among the dead. 
Phil. 3 : 11. This is the hope of those who sleep in Jesus, — a 
resurrection from the dead. A redemption from among men, 
from among the living, must mean a different thing, and can 
mean only one thing, and that is translation. Hence the 
14:4,000 are the living saints, who will be translated at the 
second coming of Christ. (See on verse 13, note.) 

On what Mount Zion does John see this company standing ? 
— The Mount Zion above; for the voice of harpers, which no 
doubt is uttered by these very ones, is heard from heaven; the 
same Zion from which the Lord utters his voice when he speaks 
to his people in close connection with the coming of the Son of 
man. Joel 3 : 16; Heb. 12 : 26-28; Rev. 16 : IT. A just con- 
sideration of the fact that there is a Mount Zion in heaven, and 
a Jerusalem above, would be a powerful antidote for the hallu- 
cination of the doctrine known as "The Age to Come." 



584 



THE REVELATION. 



A few more particulars only respecting the 144,000, in 
addition to those given in chapter 7, will claim notice in these 
brief remarks. 

1. They have the name of the Lamb's Father in their fore- 
heads. In chapter 7, they are said to have the seal of God in 
their foreheads. An important key to an understanding of 
the seal of God is thus furnished us; for we at once perceive 
that the Father regards his name as his seal. That command- 
ment of the law which contains God's name is therefore the 
seal of the law. The Sabbath commandment is the only one 
which has this; that is, that contains the descriptive title which 
distinguishes the true God from all false gods. Wherever this 
was placed, there the Father's name was said to be (Deut. 
12 : 5, 14, 18, 21; 14 : 23; 16 : 2, 6; etc.); and whoever keeps 
this commandment has, consequently, the seal of the living God. 

2. They sing a new song which no other company is able 
to learn. In chapter 15:3, it is called the song of Moses and 
the song of the Lamb. The song of Moses, as may be seen by 
reference to Exodus 15, was the song of his experience and de- 
liverance. Therefore the song of the 144,000, is the song of 
their deliverance. No others can join in it; for no other com- 
pany will have had an experience like theirs. 

3. They were not defiled with women. A woman is in 
Scripture the symbol of a church, a virtuous woman represent- 
ing a pure church, a corrupt woman an apostate church. It is, 
then, a characteristic of this company that at the time of their 
deliverance they are not defiled with, or have no connection 
with, the fallen churches of the land. Yet we are not to under- 
stand that they never had any connection with these churches; 
for it is only at a certain time that people become defiled by 
them. In chapter 18 : 4, we find a call issued to the people 
of God while they are in Babylon, to come out, lest they 
become partakers of her sius. Heeding that call, and leaving 
her connection, they escape the defilement of her sins. So 
of the 144,000; though some of them may have once had a 
connection with corrupt churches, they, sever that connection 
when it would become sin to retain it longer. 




THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL. 

Rev. 14 : 6. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



585 



4. They follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth. We un- 
derstand that this is spoken of them in their redeemed state. 
They are the special companions of their glorified Lord in the 
kingdom. Chapter 7 : 17, speaking of the same company and 
at the same time, says, "For the Lamb which is in the midst 
of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living 
fountains of waters." 

5. They are "first-fruits" unto God and the Lamb. This 
term appears to be applied to different ones to denote especial 
conditions. Christ is the first-fruits as the antitype of the 
wave-sheaf. The first receivers of the gospel are called by 
James (chapter 1:18) a kind of first-fruits. So the 144, 000, 
ripening up for the heavenly garner here on earth during the 
troublous scenes of the last days, being translated to heaven 
without seeing death, and occupying a pre-eminent position, 
are, in this sense, as would seem very consistent, called first- 
fruits unto God and the Lamb. With this description of the 
144,000 triumphant, the line of prophecy commencing with 
chapter 12 comes to a close. 

Verse 6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having 
the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to 
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7. Saying with a loud 
voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is 
come : and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and 
the fountains of waters. 8. And there followed another angel, saying, 
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations 
drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 9. And the third angel 
followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and 
his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10. The 
same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out 
without mixture into the cup of his indignation ; and he shall be tor- 
mented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in 
the presence of the Lamb : 11. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth 
up forever and ever : and thej r have no rest day nor night, who worship 
the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 
12. Here is the patience of the saints : here are they that keep the com 
mandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 

Trie First Message. — Another scene and another chain of 
prophetic events is introduced in these verses. We know that 
this is so, because the preceding verses of this chapter describe 



586 



THE REVELATION. 



a company of the redeemed in the immortal state — a scene 
which constitutes a part of the prophetic chain commencing 
with the first verse of chapter 12, and with which that chain 
of events closes; for no prophecy goes beyond the immortal 
state; and whenever we are brought in a line of prophecy to 
the end of the world, we know that that line there ends, and 
that what is introduced subsequently belongs to a new series of 
events. The Revelation in particular is composed of these 
independent prophetic chains, as has already been set forth, 
of which fact, previous to this instance, we have had a number 
of examples. 

The messages described in these verses are known as ' ' the 
three angels' messages of Revelation 14." We are justified 
in applying to them the ordinals, first, second, and third, by 
the prophecy itself; for the last one is distinctly called "the 
third angel,'' from which it follows that the one preceding was 
the second angel; and the one before that, the first angel. 

These angels are evidently symbolic; for the work assigned 
them is that of preaching the everlasting gospel to the people. 
But the preaching of the gospel has not been intrusted to 
literal angels; it has been committed unto men, who are re- 
sponsible for this sacred trust placed in their hands. Each 
of these three angels, therefore, symbolizes a body of religious 
teachers, who are commissioned to make known to then' fellow 
men the special truths which constitute the burden of these 
messages respectively. 

But we are to consider further that angels, literally, are 
intensely interested in the work of grace among men, being 
sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. 
And as there is order in all the movements and appointments 
of the heavenly world, it may not be fanciful to suppose that 
a literal angel has charge and oversight of the work of each 
message. Heb. 1 : 11 ; Rev. 1:1; 22 : 16. 

In these symbols we see the sharp contrast the Bible draws 
between earthly and heavenly things. Whenever earthly gov- 
ernments are to be represented, — even the best of them, — 
the most appropriate symbol that can be found is a cruel and 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



587 



ravenous wild beast; but when the work of God is to be set 
forth, an angel, clad in beauty and girt with power, is taken 
to symbolize it. 

The importance of the work set forth in the verses last 
quoted will be apparent to any one who will attentively study 
them. Whenever these messages are due, and are proclaimed, 
they must, from the very nature of the case, constitute the 
great theme of interest for that generation. We do not mean 
that the great mass of mankind then living will give them at- 
tention; for in every age of the world, the present truth for 
that time has been generally overlooked; but they will consti- 
tute the theme to which the people would pay most earnest 
regard if they were awake to that which concerns their highest 
interests. When God commissions his ministers to announce 
to the world that the hour of his Judgment is come, that Baby- 
lon has fallen, and that whoever worships the beast and his 
image must drink of his wrath poured out unmingled into the 
cup of his indignation,— a threatening more terrible than any 
other which can be found in the Scriptures of truth, — no man, 
except at the peril of his soul, can treat these warnings as non- 
essential, passing them by with neglect and disregard. Hence 
the necessity for the most earnest endeavor in every age, and 
especially in the present age, when so many evidences betoken 
the soon- coming of earth's final crisis, to understand the work 
of the Lord, lest we lose the benefit of the present truth. 

This angel of Rev. 14 : 6 is called "another angel," from 
the fact that John had previously seen an angel flying through 
heaven in a similar manner, as described in chapter 8 : 13, 
proclaiming that the last three of the series of seven trumpets 
were woe trumpets. This was near the close of the sixth 
century (See under chapter 8 : 12.) 

The first point to be determined is the chronology of this 
message. When may the proclamation, "The hour of his 
Judgment is come," be consistently expected 3 The bare possi- 
bility that it may be in our own day renders it very becoming 
in us to examine this question with serious attention; but the 
great probability, nay, more, the positive proof that this is so, 



588' 



THE REVELATION. 



which will appear in the development of this argument, should 
set every pulse bounding, and every heart beating high with a 
sense of the thrilling importance of this hour. 

Three positions only are possible on this question of the 
chronology of this prophecy, and as might be expected, all of 
them are taken by different expositors. These positions are (1) 
That this message has been given in the past; as, first, in the 
days of the apostles; or, secondly, in the days of the Reformers; 
(2) that it is to be given in a future age; or (3) that it belongs 
to the present generation. 

We inquire, first, respecting the past. The very nature of 
the message forbids the idea that it could have been given in 
the apostles' days. They did not proclaim that the hour of 
God's Judgment had come. If they had, it would not have 
been true, and their message would have been stamped with 
the infamy of falsehood. They did have something to say, 
however, respecting the Judgment; but they pointed to an in- 
definite future for its accomplishment. In Matt. 10 :15; 11 : 
21-24, a quotation from Christ's own words, the judgment of 
Sodom and Gomorrah, Tyre, Sidon, Chorazin, and Capernaum, 
was located indefinitely in the future from that day. Paul 
declared to the superstitious Athenians that God had appointed 
a day in which he would judge the world. Acts 17 : 31. He 
reasoned before Felix "of righteousness, temperance, and 
judgment to come." Acts 24 : 25. To the Romans he wrote, 
directing their minds forward to a day when God should judge 
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. Rom. 2 : 16. He pointed 
the Corinthians forward to a time when we must all appear 
before the judgment seat of Christ. 2 Cor. 5 : 10. James wrote 
to the brethren scattered abroad that they were, at some time 
in the future, to be judged by the law of liberty. James 2 : 12. 
And both Peter and Jude speak of the first rebel angels "as 
reserved unto the Judgment of the great day, still in the future 
at that time (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6), to which the ungodly in 
this world are also reserved. 2 Peter 2:9. How different is 
all this from ringing out upon the world the startling decla- 
ration that "the hour of his Judgment is come ! " — a sound 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



589 



which must be heard whenever the solemn message before us 
is fulfilled. 

From the days of the apostles nothing has taken place which 
any one, so far as we are aware, could construe into a sugges- 
tion of the fulfilment of the message, till we come to the Refor- 
mation of the sixteenth century. Here some seem disposed to 
make quite a determined stand, claiming that Luther and his 
colaborers gave the first message, and that the two following 
messages have been given since his day. This is a question 
to be decided by historical fact rather than by argument; and 
hence we inquire for the evidence that the Reformers made 
any such proclamation. Their teaching has been very fully 
recorded, and their writings preserved. When and where did 
they arouse the world with the proclamation that the hour of 
God's Judgment had come % We find no record that such was 
the burden of their preaching at all. On the contrary, it is 
recorded of Luther that he placed the Judgment some three 
hundred years in the future from his day. Such records ought 
to be decisive, so far as the Reformers are concerned. 

The foregoing considerations being sufficient to forbid utterly 
the application of the message to the past, we now turn to that 
view which locates it in a future age. By "future age" is 
meant a period subsequent to the second advent; and the reason 
urged for locating the message in that age is the fact that John 
saw the angel flying through heaven, immediately after having 
seen the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with the 144,000, which 
is a future event. If the book of Revelation were one consecu- 
tive prophecy, there would be force in this reasoning; but as it 
consists of a series of independent lines of prophecy, and as it 
has already been shown that one such chain ends with verse 5 
of this chapter, and a new one begins with verse 6, the fore- 
going view cannot be urged. To show that the message can- 
not have its fulfilment in a future age, it will be sufficient to 
remark : — 

1. The apostolic commission extended only to the "har- 
vest, ' ' which is the end of the world. If, therefore, this angel 
with the ' 4 everlasting gospel ' ' comes after that event, he 



590 



THE REVELATION. 



preaches another gospel, and subjects himself to the anathema 
of Paul in Gal. 1 : 8. 

2. The second message cannot, of course, be given before 
the first; but the second message announces the fall of Baby- 
lon, and a voice is heard from heaven after that, saying, " Come 
out of her, my people." How absurd to locate this after the 
second advent of Christ, seeing that all God's people, both 
living and dead, are at that time caught up to meet the Lord 
in the air, to be thenceforward forever with him. They cannot 
be called out of Babylon after this. Christ does not take them 
to Babylon, but to the Father's house, where there are many 
mansions. John 14 : 2, 3. 

3. A glance at the third angel's message, which must be 
fulfilled in a future age if the first one is, will still further show 
the absurdity of this view. This message warns against the 
worship of the beast, which refers, beyond question, to the pa- 
pal beast. But the papal beast is destroyed and given to the 
burning flame when Christ comes. Dan. 7 : 11; 2 Thess. 2:8. 
He goes into the lake of fire at that time, to disturb the saints 
of the Most High no more. Rev. 19 : 20. Why will people 
involve themselves in the absurdity of locating a message against 
the worship of the beast at a time when the beast has ceased 
to exist, and his worship is impossible? 

In verse 13 of Revelation 14, a blessing is pronounced upon 
the dead which die in the Lord "from henceforth;" that is, 
from the time the third message begins to be given. This is a 
complete demonstration of the fact that the message 'must be 
given prior to the first resurrection; for after that event all who 
have a part therein (and this includes all, both living and 
dead, who are not assigned to the second death) become as the 
angels of God, and can die no more. We therefore dismiss 
this view concerning the future age as unscriptural, absurd, and 
impossible. 

We are now prepared to examine the third view, that the 
message belongs to the present generation. The argument on 
the two preceding points has done much to establish the pres- 
ent proposition; for if the message has not been given in the 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



591 



past, and cannot be given in the future after Christ comes, 
where else can we locate it but in the present generation, if 
we are in the last days, as we suppose % Indeed, the very 
nature of the message itself confines it to the last generation of 
men. It proclaims the hour of God's Judgment come. But 
the Judgment pertains to the closing up of the work of salva- 
tion for the world; and the proclamation announcing its ap- 
proach can therefore be made only as we come near the end. 
It is further shown that the message belongs to the present 
time when it is proved that this angel is identical with the 
angel of Revelation 10, who utters his message in this genera- 
tion. That the first angel of Revelation 14 and the angel of 
Revelation 10 are identical, see argument on the latter chapter. 

But the strongest and most conclusive evidence that the 
message belongs to the present time will consist in finding- 
some movement in this generation through which its fulfilment 
has been, or is, going forward. On this point we refer to a 
movement of which it would now be hard to find any one who 
is wholly ignorant. It is the great Advent movement of the 
present century. As early as 1831, ¥m. Miller, of Low 
Hampton, N. Y., by an earnest and consistent study of the 
prophecies, was led to the conclusion that the gospel dispensa- 
tion was near its close. He placed the termination, which he 
thought would occur at the end of the prophetic periods, about 
the year 1843. This date was afterward extended to the 
autumn of 1844. (See diagram and argument under Dan. 
9 : 24-27.) We call his investigations a consistent study of 
the prophecies, because he ^adopted that rule of interpretation 
which will be found lying at the base of every religious refor- 
mation, and of every advance movement in prophetic knowl- 
edge; namely, to take all the language of the Scriptures, just 
as we would that of any other book, to be literal, unless the 
context or the laws of language require it to be understood 
figuratively; and to let scripture interpret scripture. True, on 
a vital point he made a mistake, as will be explained hereafter; 
but in principle, and in a great number of particulars, he was 
correct. He was on the right road, and made an immense 



592 



THE REVELATION. 



advance over every theological system of his day. When he 
began to promulgate his views, they met with general favor, 
and were followed by great religious awakenings in different 
parts of the land. Soon a multitude of colaborers gathered 
around his standard, among whom may be mentioned such 
men as F. G. Brown, Chas. Fitch, Josiah Litch, J. V. Himes, 
and others, who were then eminent for piety, and men of 
influence in the religious world. The period marked by the 
years 1840-1844 was one of intense activity and great progress 
in this work. A message was proclaimed to the world which 
bore every characteristic of a fulfilment of the proclamation 
of Rev. 14 : 6, 7. The preaching was emphatically such as 
might be called the everlasting (age-lasting) gospel. It per- 
tained to the closing up of this age, and the incoming of the 
everlasting age (al&v) of the King of righteousness. It was that 
gospel of the kingdom which Christ declared should be preached 
in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then the 
end should come. Matt. 24 : 14. The fulfilment of either of 
these scriptures involves the preaching of the nearness of the 
end. The gospel could not be preached to all nations as a 
sign of the end, unless it was understood to be such, and the 
proximity of the end was at least one of its leading themes. 
The Advent Herald of Dec. 14, 1850, well expressed the truth 
on this point in the following language : — 

"As an indication of the approach of the end, there was, 
however, to be seen another angel flying through the midst of 
heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that 
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and 
tongue, and people. Rev. 14 : 6. The burden of this angel 
was to be the same gospel which had been before proclaimed; 
but connected with it was the additional motive of the proxim- 
ity of the kingdom — ' saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and 
give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come : and 
worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the 
fountains of waters.' Verse 7. No mere preaching of the 
gospel, without announcing its proximity, could fulfil this 
message." 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



593 



The persons who were engaged in this movement supposed 
it to be a fulfilment of prophecy, and claimed that they were 
giving the message of Rev. 14 : 6, 7. 

With this movement also began the fulfilment of the para- 
ble of the ten virgins, recorded in Matthew 25, which our Lord 
uttered to illustrate and enforce the doctrine of his second 
coming, and the end of the world, which he had just set forth 
in Matthew 24. Those who became interested in this move- 
ment went forth to meet the Bridegroom; that is, they were 
aroused to expect the coming of Christ, and to look and wait 
for his return from heaven. The Bridegroom tarried. The 
first point of expectation, the close of the year 1843, which 
according to Jewish reckoning ended in the spring of 1844, 
passed by, and the Lord did not come. While he tarried, they 
all slumbered and slept. Surprised by the unexpected doubt 
and uncertainty into which they were thrown, the interest of 
the people began to wane, and their efforts to flag. At 
midnight there was a cry made, "Behold, the Bridegroom 
cometh ! go ye out to meet him. ' ' Midway between the spring 
of 1844, where it was at first supposed that the 2300 days 
would terminate, and that point in the autumn of 1844 to 
which it was afterward ascertained that they really extended, 
just such a cry as this was suddenly raised. Involuntarily, 
this very phraseology was adopted:: " Behold, the Bridegroom 
cometh." The cause of this sudden arousing was the discovery 
that the great prophetic period of 2300 days (years) of Dan. 
8:14, did not end in the spring of 1844, but would extend to 
the autumn of that year, and consequently that the time at 
which they supposed they were warranted to look for the 
appearing of the Lord had not passed by, but was indeed at 
the door. At the same time, the relation between the type and 
the antitype relating to the cleansing of the sanctuary was par- 
tially seen. The prophecy declared that at the end of the 2300 
days, the sanctuary should be cleansed ; and as in the type 
the sanctuary was cleansed on the tenth day of the seventh 
month of the Jewish year, that point in the autumn of 1844 
was accordingly fixed upon for the termination of the 2300 
38 



594 



THE REVELATION. 



years. It fell on the 2 2d of October. Between the mid- 
summer of 1844, when the light on these subjects was first 
seen, and the day and month above named when the 2300 
years terminated, perhaps no movement ever exhibited greater 
activity than this respecting the soon coming of Christ, and in 
no cause was ever more accomplished in so short a space of 
time. A religious wave swept over this country, and the 
nation was stirred as no people have been stirred since the 
opening of the great Keformation of the sixteenth century. 
This was called the ' ' seventh-month movement, ' 1 and was more 
particularly confined to the United States and Canada. 

But the general movement respecting the second advent of 
Christ, and the proclamation that ' ' the hour of his Judgment 
is come," was not confined to this hemisphere. It was world- 
wide. It fulfilled in this respect the proclamation of the angel 
"to every nation and kindred and tongue and people." In 
Advent Tracts, Yol. II, p. 135, Mourant Brock, an English 
writer, is quoted as saying: — 

"It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of 
the near return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice 
of warning raised, but also in America, India, and on the con- 
tinent of Europe. In America, about three hundred ministers 
of the word are thus preaching 'this gospel of the kingdom;' 
while in this country [Great Britain], about seven hundred of 
the Church of England are raising the same cry. ' ' 

Dr. Joseph Wolff traveled in Arabia Felix, through the 
region inhabited by the descendants of Hobab, Moses' father- 
in-law. In his Mission to Bokhara, he speaks as follows of a 
book which he saw in Yemen : — 

' < The Arabs of this place have a book called < Seera, ' 
which treats of the second coming of Christ, and his reign 
in glory! In Yemen, I spent six days with the Rechabites. 
' They drink no wine, plant no vineyards, sow no seed, live 
in tents, and remember the words of Jonadab, the son of 
Rechab. ' With them were the children of Israel of the tribe 
of Dan, who reside near Terim in Hatramawt, ivho ex/pect, in 
common with the children of 'Rechab, the speedy arrival of the 
Messiah in the clouds of heaven. ' ' 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



595 



The Yoice of the Church, by D. T. Taylor, pp. 342-344, 
speaks as follows concerning the wide diffusion of the advent 
sentiment : — 

4 'In Wurtemburg, there is a Christian colony numbering 
hundreds, who look for the speedy advent of Christ ; also 
another of like belief on the shores of the Caspian; the Molo- 
kaners, a large body of Dissenters from the Russian Greek 
Church, residing on the shores of the Baltic — a very pious 
people, of whom it is said, ' Taking the Bible alone for their 
creed, the norm of their faith is simply the Holy Scriptures ' — 
are characterized by the ' expectation of Christ's immediate and 
visible reign upon earth.' In Russia, the doctrine of Christ's 
coming and reign is preached to some extent, and received by 
many of the lower class. It has been extensively agitated in 
Germany, particularly in the south part among the Moravians. 
In 'Norway, charts and books on the advent have been circu- 
lated extensively, and the doctrine has been received by many. 
Among the Tartars in Tartary, there prevails an expectation of 
Christ's advent about this time. English and American publi- 
cations on this doctrine have been sent to Holland, Germany, 
India, Ireland, Constantinople, Rome, and to nearly every 
missionary station on the globe. At the Turk's Islands, it 
has been received to some extent among the Wesleyans. 

' ' Mr. Fox, a Scottish missionary to the Teloogoo people, 
was a believer in Christ's soon coming. James McGregor 
Bertram, a Scottish missionary of the Baptist order at St. 
Helena, has sounded the cry extensively on that island, making 
many converts and premillennialists; he has also preached it at 
South Africa at the missionary stations there. David N. Lord 
informs us that a large proportion of the missionaries who have 
gone from Great Britain to make known the gospel to the 
heathen, and who are now laboring in Asia and Africa, are 
millenarians; and Joseph Wolff, D. D., according to his jour- 
nals, between the years 1821 and 1845, proclaimed the Lord's 
speedy advent in Palestine, Egypt, on the shores of the Red 
Sea, Mesopotamia, the Crimea, Persia, Georgia, throughout the 
Ottoman empire, in Greece, Arabia, Toorkistan, Bokhara, 



596 



THE REVELATION. 



Afghanistan, Cashmere, Hindostan, Thibet, Holland, Scotland, 
and Ireland, at Constantinople, Jerusalem, St. Helena, also on 
shipboard in the Mediterranean, and at New York City to all 
denominations. He declares he has preached among Jews, 
Turks, Mohammedans, Parsees, Hindoos, Chaldeans, Yeseedes, 
Syrians, Sabeans, to pashas, sheiks, shahs, the kings of Or- 
gantsh and Bokhara, the queen of Greece, etc. ; and of his 
extraordinary labors, the Investigator says, ' No individual has, 
perhaps, given greater publicity to the doctrine of the second 
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ than has this well-known 
missionary to the world. Wherever he goes, he proclaims the 
approaching advent of the Messiah in glory.' " 

Elder J. 1ST. Andrews, in his work on The Three Messages 
of Revelation 14 : 6-12, pp. 32-35, speaks as follows concern- 
ing the message under consideration : — 

"None can deny that this world-wide warning of impending 
judgment has been given. The nature of the evidence adduced 
in its support now claims our attention, as furnishing the most 
conclusive testimony that it was a message from Heaven. 

"All the great outlines of the world's prophetic history 
were shown to be complete in the present generation. The 
great prophetic chain of Daniel 2, also those of chapters 7, 8, 
11, and 12, were shown to be just accomplished. The same 
was true of our Lord's prophetic description of the gospel dis- 
pensation. Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21. The prophetic 
periods of Daniel 7, 8^ 9, 12 ; Revelation 11, 12, 13, were 
shown to harmonize with, and unitedly to sustain, this great 
proclamation. The signs in the heavens and upon the earth 
and sea, in the church and among the nations, with one voice 
bore witness to the warning which God addressed to the human 
family. Joel 2 : 30, 31 ; Matt. 21 : 29-31 ; Mark 13 : 21-26 ; 
Luke 21 : 25-36 ; 2 Timothy 3 ; 2 Peter 3 ; Rev. 6 : 12, 13. 
And besides the mighty array of evidence on which this 
warning was based, the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
in connection with this proclamation set the seal of Heaven 
to its truth. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



597 



' ' The warning of John the Baptist, which was to prepare 
the way for the first advent of our Lord, was of short duration, 
and limited in its extent. For each prophetic testimony which 
sustained the work of John, we have several which support the 
proclamation of Christ's near advent. John had not the aid 
of the press to disseminate his proclamation, nor the facility of 
Nahum's chariots; he was a humble man, dressed in camel's 
hair, and he performed no miracles. If the Pharisees and 
lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves in not 
being baptized of John, how great must be the guilt of those 
who reject the warning sent by God to prepare the way of the 
second advent ! 

< ' But those were disappointed who expected the Lord in 
1843 and 1844. This fact is with many a sufficient reason for 
rejecting all the testimony in this case. We acknowledge the 
disappointment, but cannot acknowledge that this furnishes a 
just reason for denying the hand of God in this work. The 
Jewish church was disappointed when, at the close of the work 
of John the Baptist, Jesus presented himself as the promised 
Messiah. And the trusting disciples were most sadly disap- 
pointed when he whom they expected to deliver Israel was 
by wicked hands taken and slain. And after his resurrection, 
when they expected him to restore again the kingdom to Israel, 
they could not but be disappointed when they understood that 
he was going away to his Father, and that they were to be left 
for a long season to tribulation and anguish. But disappoint- 
ment does not prove that God has no hand in the guidance of 
his people. It should lead them to correct their errors, but it 
should not lead them to cast away their confidence in God. It 
was because the children of Israel were disappointed in the 
wilderness that they so often denied divine guidance. They 
are set forth as an admonition to us, that we should not fall 
after the same example of unbelief. 

' < But it must be apparent to every student of the Scriptures, 
that the angel who proclaims the hour of God's Judgment does 
not give the latest message of mercy. Revelation 14 presents 



598 



THE REVELATION. 



two other and latest proclamations before the close of human 
probation. This fact alone is sufficient to prove that the 
coming of the Lord does not take place until the second and 
third proclamations have been added to the first. The same 
thing may also be seen in the fact that after the angel of 
chapter 10 has sworn that time shall be no longer, another 
work of prophesying before many people and nations is an- 
nounced. Hence we understand that the first angel preaches 
the hour of God's Judgment come; that is, he preaches the 
termination of the prophetic periods; and that this is the time 
which he swears shall be no longer. 

" The Judgment does of necessity commence before the 
advent of Christ; for he comes to execute the judgment (Jude 
14, 15; Rev. 22 : 12; 2 Tim. 4: 1); and at the sound of the 
last trumpet he confers immortality upon every one of the 
righteous, and passes by ail the wicked. The investigative 
Judgment does therefore precede the execution of the same by 
the Saviour. It is the province of the Father to preside in this 
investigative work, as set forth in Daniel 7. At this tribunal, 
the Son closes up his work as high priest, and is crowned king. 
Thence he comes to earth to execute the decisions of his Father. 
It is this work of judgment by the Father which the first angel 
introduces. 

"The great period of 2300 days, which was the most im- 
portant period in marking the definite time in that proclamation, 
extends to the cleansing of the sanctuary. That the cleansing 
of the sanctuary is not the cleansing of any part of the earth, 
but that it is the last work of our great High Priest in the 
heavenly tabernacle before his advent to the earth, has been 
clearly shown. [See on Dan. 8 : 14.] And we understand that 
it is while the work of cleansing the sanctuary is taking place, 
that the latest message of mercy is proclaimed. Thus it will 
be seen that the prophetic periods, and the proclamation which 
is based upon them, do not extend to the coming of the Lord. 1 ' 

That the mistake made by Adventists in 1844 was not in 
the time, has been shown by the argument on the seventy 
weeks and twenty-three hundred days in Daniel 9; that it was 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



599 



in the nature of the event to occur at the end of those days, 
has been shown in the argument on the sanctuary in Daniel 8. 
Supposing that the earth was the sanctuary, and that its cleans- 
ing was to be accomplished by fire at the revelation of the Lord 
from heaven, they naturally looked for the appearing of Christ 
at the end of the days. And through their misapprehension 
on this point, they met with a crushing disappointment, though 
everything which the prophecy declared, and everything which 
they were warranted to expect, took place with absolute accu- 
racy at that time. There the cleansing of the sanctuary began; 
but this did not bring Christ to this earth, for the earth is not 
the sanctuary; and its cleansing does not involve the destruc- 
tion of the earth, for it is accomplished with the blood of a 
sacrificial offering, not with fire. Here was the bitterness of 
the little book to the church. Rev. 10 : 10. Here was the 
coming of one like the Son of man, not to this earth, but to 
the Ancient of days. Dan. 7 : 13, 14, Here was the coming 
of the Bridegroom to the marriage, as set forth in the parable 
of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. We have spoken of the mid- 
night cry of that parable in the summer of 1844. The foolish 
virgins then said to the wise, "Give us of your oil; for our 
lamps are gone [margin, going] out." The wise answered, 
" Go and buy for yourselves." And while they went to buy, 
the Bridegroom came. This is not the coming of Christ to this 
earth; for it is a coming which precedes the marriage; but the 
marriage, that is, the reception of the kingdom (see on chapter 
21), must precede his coming to this earth to receive to himself 
his people, who are to be the guests at the marriage supper. 
Luke 19 : 12; Rev. 19 : 7-9. This coming, in the parable, 
must therefore be the same as the coming to the Ancient of 
days spoken of in Dan. 7 : 13, 14. 

And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, 
and the door was shut. After the Bridegroom comes to the 
marriage, there is an examination of guests to see who are 
ready to participate in the ceremony, according to the parable _ 
of Matt. 22 : 1-13. As the last thing before the marriage, the 
King comes in to see the guests, to ascertain if all are properly 



600 



THE REVELATION. 



arrayed in the wedding garment; and whoever, after due exami- 
nation, is found with the garment on, and is accepted by the 
King, never after loses that garment, but is sure of immortality. 
But this question of fitness for the kingdom can be determined 
only by the investigative Judgment of the sanctuary. This 
closing work in the sanctuary, therefore, which is the cleansing 
of the sanctuary, and the atonement, is nothing else than the 
examination of the guests to see who have on the wedding 
garment; and, consequently, until this work is finished, it is 
not determined who are "ready" to go hi to the marriage. 
"They that were ready went in with him to the marriage." 
By this short expression we are carried from the time when 
the Bridegroom comes to the marriage, entirely through the 
period of the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the examination 
of the guests; and when this is concluded, probation will end, 
and the door will be shut. 

The connection of the parable with the message under 
examination is now apparent. It brings to view a period of 
making ready the guests for the marriage of the Lamb, which 
is the work of Judgment to which the message brings us when 
it declares, ; ' The hour of his Judgment is come. ' ' This mes- 
sage was to be proclaimed with a loud voice. It went forth 
with the power thus indicated between the years 1840—44, more 
especially in the seventh-month movement of the latter year, 
bringing us to the end of the 2300 days, when the work of 
Judgment commenced as Christ began the work of cleansing 
the sanctuary. 

But, as has been already shown, this did not bring the close 
of probation, but only the period of the investigative Judgment. 
In this Judgment we are now living; and during this time other 
messages are proclaimed, as the prophecy further declares. 

The Second Message. — This message, following the first, is 
announced (verse 8) in these few words : "And there followed 
another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great 
city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the 
wrath of her fornication.*' The chronology of this message 
is determined, to a great extent, by that of the first message. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



601 



This cannot precede that; but that, as has been shown, is con- 
fined to the last days; yet this must be given before the end, 
for no move of this kind is possible after that event. It is 
therefore a part of that religious movement which takes place 
in the last days with especial reference to the coming of Christ. 

The inquiries therefore naturally follow: What is meant by 
the term Babylon f what is its fall ? and how is it fulfilled ? 
As to the etymology of the word, we learn something from the 
marginal readings of Gen. 10 : 10 and 11 : 9. The beginning 
of Mmrod's kingdom was Babel, or Babylon,- and the place 
was so called because God there confounded the language of 
the builders of the tower ; and the word means confusion. The 
word is here used figuratively to designate the great symbolic 
city of the book of Revelation, probably with special reference 
to the signification of the term, and the circumstances from 
which it originated. It applies to something on which, as 
specifying its chief characteristic, may be written the word 
" confusion." 

There are but three possible objects to which the word can 
be applied; and these are (1) the apostate religious world in 
general, (2) the papal church in particular, and (3) the city 
of Rome. In examining these terms, we shall first show what 
Babylon is not. 

1. Babylon is not confined to the Romish Church. That 
this church is a very prominent component part of great Baby- 
lon, is not denied. The descriptions of chapter 17 seem to 
apply very particularly to that church. But the name which 
she bears on her forehead, ' ' Mystery, Babylon the Great, the 
Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth," reveals 
other family connections. If this church is the mother, who 
are the daughters % The fact that these daughters are spoken 
of, shows that there are other religious bodies besides the Ro- 
mish Church which come under this designation. Again, there 
is to be a call made in connection with this message, ' 4 Come 
out of her, my people" (Rev. 18:1-1); and as this message 
is located in the present generation, it follows, if no other 
church but the Romish is included in Babylon, that the people 



602 



THE REVELATION. 



of God, as a body, are now found in the commission of that 
church, and are to be called out. But this conclusion, no 
Protestant, at least, will be willing to adopt. 

2. Babylon is not the city of Rome. The argument relied 
upon to show that the city of Rome is the Babylon of the Apoc- 
alypse runs thus : ' 4 The angel told John that the woman which 
he had seen was the great city which reigneth over the kings 
of the earth, and that the seven heads of the beast are seven 
mountains upon which the woman sitteth." And then, taking 
the city and the mountains to be literal, and finding Rome built 
upon just seven hills, the application is made at once to literal 
Rome. 

The principle upon which this interpretation rests is the 
assumption that the explanation of a symbol must always be 
. literal. It falls to the ground the moment it can be shown 
that symbols are sometimes explained by substituting for them 
other symbols, and then explaining the latter. This can easily 
be done. In Rev. 11:3, the symbol of the two witnesses is 
introduced. The next verse reads : ' ' These are the two olive 
trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the 
earth. ' ' In this case, the first symbol is said to be the same as 
another symbol which is elsewhere clearly explained. So in the 
case before us. " The seven heads are seven mountains," and 
4 < The woman is that great city ; ' ' and it will not be difficult to 
show that the mountains and the city are both used symbol- 
ically. The reader's attention is asked to the following 
points : — 

(1.) We are informed in chapter 13 that one of the seven 
heads was wounded to death. This head therefore cannot be a 
literal mountain; for it would be folly to speak of wounding a 
mountain to death. 

(2. ) Each of the seven heads has a crown upon it. But 
whoever saw a literal mountain with a crown upon it ? 

(3.) The seven heads are evidently successive in order of 
time; for we read, "Five are fallen, and one is, and the other 
is not yet come. ' ' Revelation IT. But the seven hills on which 
Rome is built, are not successive, and it would be absurd to 
apply such language to them. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 603 

( 4.) According to Dan. 7 : 6, compared with Dan. 8 : 8, 22, 
heads denote governments; and according to Dan. 2:35, 44; 
Jer. 51 : 25, mountains denote kingdoms. According to these 
facts, the version of Rev. 17 : 9, 10 given by Professor Whiting, 
which is a literal translation of the text, removes all obscurity : 
"The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman 
sitteth, and they are seven kings." It will thus be seen that 
the angel represents the heads as mountains, and then ex- 
plains the mountains to be seven successive kings, or . forms of 
government. The meaning is transferred from one symbol to 
another, and then an explanation given of the second symbol. 

From the foregoing argument, it follows that the " woman " 
cannot represent a literal city; for the mountains upon which 
the woman sitteth being symbolic, a literal city cannot sit 
upon symbolic mountains. Again, Rome was the seat of the 
dragon of chapter 12, and this was transferred to the beast 
(Rev. 13 : 2 ), thus becoming the seat of the beast; but it would 
be a singular mixing of figures to take the seat, which is sat 
upon by the beast, and make that a woman sitting upon the 
beast. 

(5.) Were the city of Rome the Babylou of the Apocalypse, 
what nonsense should we have in chapter 18 : 1-4; for in 
this case the fall of Babylon would be the overthrow and de- 
struction of the city, in fact, its utter consumption by fire, ac- 
cording to verse 8. But mark what takes place after the fall. 
Babylon becomes a habitation of devils, the hold of every foul 
spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. How can 
this happen to a city after that city is destroyed, even being 
utterly burned with fire ? But worse still, after all this a 
voice is heard, saying, "Come out of her, my people." Are 
God's people in Rome? — Not to any great extent, even in 
her best estate. But how many can we suppose to be there, 
to be called out, after the city is burned with fire ? It is not 
necessary to say more to show that Babylon cannot be the 
city of Rome. 

3. Babylon signifies the universal worldly church. Having 
seen that it cannot be any one of the only other three possible 
objects to which it could- be applied, it must mean this. But 



604 



THE REVELATION. 



we are not left to this a priori kind of reasoning on this 
subject. Babylon is called a woman. A woman, used as 
a symbol, signifies a church. The woman of chapter 12 was 
interpreted to mean a church. The woman of chapter 17 
should undoubtedly be interpreted as signifying also a church. 
The character of the woman determines the character of the 
church represented, a chaste woman standing for a pure church, 
a vile woman for an impure or apostate church. The woman 
Babylon is herself a harlot, and the mother of daughters like 
herself. This circumstance, as well as the name itself, shows 
that Babylon is not limited to any single ecclesiastical body, 
but must be composed of many. It must take in all of a like 
nature, and represent the entire corrupt or apostate church of 
the earth. This will perhaps explain the language of Rev. 
18 : 24, which represents that when God makes requisition 
upon great Babylon for the blood of his martyrs, in her will 
be found i4 the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all" 
that have been slain upon the earth. The Greek Church is the 
established church of Russia and Greece; the Lutheran Church 
is the established church of Prussia, Holland, Sweden, Norway, 
and a part of the smaller German states ; England has Epis- 
copacy for her state religion ; and other countries have their 
established religions, and zealously oppose dissenters. Babylon 
has made all nations drunken with the wine of her fornication, 
that is, her false doctrines; it can therefore symbolize nothing 
less than the universal worldly church. 

The great city, Babylon, is spoken of as composed of three 
divisions. So the great religions of the world may be arranged 
under three heads. The first, oldest, and most wide-spread is 
paganism, separately symbolized under the form of a dragon; 
the second is the great Romish apostasy, symbolized by the 
beast; and the third is the daughters, or descendants from that 
church. Under this head comes the two-horned beast, though 
that does not embrace it all. War, oppression, conformity to 
the world, the worship of mammon, the creed-power, pursuit 
of pleasure, and the maintenance of very many errors of the 
old Romish Church, identify, with sad and faithful accuracy. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



605 



the great body of the Protestant churches as an important 
constituent part of this great Babylon. 

A glance at some of the ways in which the Protestant 
church has deported herself will still further show this. Pome, 
having the power, destroyed vast multitudes of those whom 
she adjudged heretics. The Protestant church has shown the 
same spirit. Witness the burning of Michael Servetus by the 
Protestants of Geneva with John Calvin at their head. Wit- 
ness the long-continued oppression of dissenters by the Church 
of England. Witness the hanging of Quakers and whipping 
of Baptists even by the Puritan fathers of New England, 
themselves fugitives from like oppression by the Church of 
England. But these, some may say, are things of the past. 
Very true; yet they show that when persons governed by 
strong religious prejudice have the power to coerce dissenters, 
they cannot forbear to use it — a state of things which we look 
for in this country under a further fulfilment of the closing 
prophecy of chapter 13. 

Mark also how far they have departed from the teachings 
of Christ in other respects. Christ forbade his people to seek 
after the treasures of this world. But the popular church, as 
a body, exhibits greater eagerness for wealth than do worldlings 
themselves. In how many churches does mammon bear rule! 
Christ says, " Be not ye called Rabbi," that is, master, or doc- 
tor; " for one is your Master, even Christ.'* To do this is to 
partake of that same spirit which has led aspiring men to as- 
sume to be the head of the church, the successors of St. Peter, 
the vicegerent of Christ, and a god upon earth. Yet how many 
in the Protestant church, in imitation of the Romish, adopt 
the title of "Reverend," which in our version of the Scrip- 
tures is applied to God alone: < ' Holy and reverend is his name. " 
But not content with this, some become " Very Reverend," and 
"Right Reverend," and "Doctors of Divinity." The New 
Testament speaks in the most decided terms against adorn- 
ments and extravagance in dress ; yet where shall we look 
for a display of the latest fashions, the most costly attire, the 
most gaudy adornments, the richest diamonds, and the most 



606 



THE REVELATION. 



dazzling jewelry, except in a fashionable assembly in a Prot- 
estant church on a pleasant Sunday ? Such is now the state of 
the religious world, that many, in pursuit of their vocation as 
lawyers, doctors, politicians, merchant kings, etc., seek through 
the avenue of church connection success in business, honor in 
society, high offices in the nation, and lucrative positions every- 
where. And much more of this will be seen, when, as already 
explained, church and state shall be united in America, and a 
religious profession shall become a qualification for political 
office. To adopt the form of godliness from such motives 
must be most abominable in the sight of God; yet these very 
classes are welcomed by the churches, because it will make them 
still more popular. 

Babylon is represented as trafficking in the souls of men. 
A custom common in the Church of England would seem to 
come under this head. There, vacant livings are sometimes set 
up for sale, and the highest bidder, regardless of his moral 
qualifications or religious standing, becomes the possessor of the 
revenue belonging to the position, and the pastor of the people 
of that parish. To come to the United States, look at all the 
arts and devices resorted to, to draw the multitude, not to con- 
vert and save them, but to gain their patronage and influence. 
The most disastrous result of all this is that the minister must 
preach smooth things, and tickle fashionable ears with pleasing 
fables. 

It was the will of Christ that his church should be one. 
He prayed that his disciples might be one, as he and the Father 
were one; for this would give power to his gospel, and cause 
the world to believe in him. Instead of this, look at the con- 
fusion that exists in the Protestant world, the many sectional 
walls that divide it up into a network of societies, and the 
many creeds, discordant as the languages of those who were 
dispersed at the tower of Babel. God is not the author of all 
these. It is just this state of things which the word Babylon, 
as a descriptive term, appropriately designates. It is evidently 
used for this very purpose, and not at all as a term of reproach. 
Instead of being stirred with feelings of resentment when this 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



607 



term is mentioned, people should rather examine their position, 
to see if in faith or practice they are guilty of any connection 
with this great city of confusion, and if so, separate at once 
therefrom. 

The true church is a chaste virgin. 2 Cor. 11:2. The 
church that is joined with the world in friendship, is a harlot. 
It is this unlawful connection with the kings of the earth that 
constitutes her the great harlot of the Apocalypse. Revelation 
17. Thus the Jewish Church, at first espoused to the Lord 
(Jeremiah, chapters 2, 3, and 31 : 32), became a harlot. Eze- 
kiel 16. This church, when thus apostatized from God, was 
called Sodom (Isaiah 1), just as "the great city" (Babylon) 
is so called in Revelation 11. The unlawful union with the 
world, of which Babylon is guilty, is positive proof that it is not 
the civil power. That the people of God are in her midst just 
before her overthrow is proof that she is professedly a religious 
body. For these reasons, it is not very evident that the Baby- 
lon of the Apocalypse is the professed church united with the 
world. 

The fall of Babylon will next claim attention. Having 
now learned what constitutes Babylon, it will not be difficult 
to decide what is meant by the declaration that Babylon is 
fallen. As Babylon is not a literal city, the fall cannot be a lit- 
eral overthrow. We have already seen what an absurdity this 
would involve. And besides, between the fall and the de- 
struction of Babylon, the clearest distinction is maintained by 
the prophecy itself. Babylon ' ' falls ' ' before it is with violence 
" thrown down," as a millstone cast into the sea, and " utterly 
burned with fire." The fall is therefore a moral fall; for after 
the fall, the voice is addressed to the people of God who are 
still in her connection, "Come out of her, my people;" and 
the reason is immediately given, — "that ye be not partakers of 
her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Babylon 
therefore still exists to sin, and her plagues are still future, 
after the fall. 

Those who make Babylon apply exclusively to the papacy, 
claim that the fall of Babylon is the loss of civil power by the 



608 



THE REVELATION. 



papal church. But such a view would be inconsistent with the 
prophecy in several particulars : — 

1. Babylon falls because she makes all nations drink of her 
wine, or instils among them her false doctrines. But this by 
no means caused the loss of the pope's temporal power; on the 
contrary, it was the very means by which he so long maintained 
his supremacy. 

2. Because of the fall of Babylon, she becomes the hold of 
foul spirits and hateful birds; but such is not at all the result 
to Eome of the loss of civil power. 

3. The people of God are called out of Babylon on account 
of her increasing sinfulness resulting from the fall; but the loss 
of the temporal power of the papacy constitutes no additional 
reason why the people of God should leave that church. 

The reason given why Babylon meets with this moral fall is 
" because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath 
[not anger, but intense passion] of her fornication. ' ' There is 
but one thing to which this can refer, and that is false doc- 
trines. She has corrupted the pure truths of God's word, and 
made the nations drunken with pleasing fables. Among the 
doctrines she teaches contrary to the word of God, may be men- 
tioned the following : — 

1. The doctrine of a temporal millennium, or a thousand 
years of peace and prosperity and righteousness all over the 
earth before the second coming of Christ. This doctrine is 
especially calculated to shut the ears of the people against the 
evidences of the second advent near, and will probably lull as 
many souls into a state of carnal security which will lead to 
their final ruin as any heresy which has ever been devised by 
the great enemy of truth. 

2. Sprinkling instead of immersion, which is the only Scrip- 
tural mode of baptism, and a fitting memorial of the burial and 
resurrection of our Lord, for which purpose it was designed. 
Having corrupted this ordinance, and destroyed it as a memo- 
rial of the resurrection of Christ, the way was prepared for the 
substitution of something else for this purpose, which she at- 
tempted in — 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



609 



3. The change of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, 
the seventh day, into the festival of Sunday, as the rest-day of 
the Lord and a memorial of his resurrection, which has never 
been commanded, and can by no possible means appropriately 
commemorate that event. Fathered by heathenism as " the 
wild solar holiday of all pagan times, " Sunday was led to the 
font by the pope, and christened as an institution of the gospel 
church. Thus an attempt was made to destroy a memorial 
which the great God had set up of his own magnificent creative 
work, and erect another in its stead to commemorate the resur- 
rection of Christ, for which there was no occasion, as the Lord 
himself had already provided a memorial for that purpose. 

4. The doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. 
This also was derived from the pagan world. As distinguished 
converts from heathenism entered the ranks of Christians, they 
soon became u Fathers of the church," and foster-fathers of 
this pernicious doctrine as a part of divine truth. This error 
nullifies the two great Scripture doctrines of the resurrection 
and the general Judgment, and furnishes a well-laid track for 
the car of modern Spiritualism with its load of pollution. From 
it have sprung such other evil doctrines as the conscious state 
of the dead, saint- worship, Mariolatry, purgatory, reward at 
death, prayers and baptisms for the dead, eternal torment, 
and Universalism. 

5. The doctrine that the saints, as unclothed, immaterialized 
spirits, find their eternal inheritance in far-away, indefinable 
regions, "beyond the bounds of time and space." Thus mul- 
titudes have been turned away from the Scriptural view that 
this present earth is to be destroyed by fire at the day of Judg- 
ment and perdition of ungodly men, and that from its ashes the 
voice of Omnipotence will evoke a new earth, which will be the 
future everlasting kingdom of glory, and which the saints will 
possess as their eternal inheritance. 

6. That the coming of Christ is a spiritual, not a literal 
event, and was fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem, or is 
fulfilled in conversion, in death, in Spiritualism, etc. How 
many minds have by such teaching been forever closed against 

39 



610 



THE REVELATION. 



the Scriptural view that the second coming of Christ is a future, 
definite event, literal, personal, visible, resulting in destruction 
to all his foes, and everlasting life to all his people ! 

7. Trailing the standard of godliness into the very dust. 
Men are made to believe that a form of godliness is all-suffi- 
cient, and that the words, "Lord, Lord," though repeated as 
an empty formula, will be a safe passport to the kingdom of 
heaven. If any one doubts this statement, let him listen to the 
next funeral discourse, or visit the cemetery, and mark what 
the tombstones say. 

The world has gone almost stark mad in the pursuit of 
riches and honor; but in these things the church takes the 
lead, and thus openly sanctions what the Lord strictly forbade. 
If the churches were united as they should be, what a stum- 
bling-block would be taken out of the way of sinners ! And if 
it were not for the false doctrines which she has instilled into 
the minds of all men, how the plain truths of the Bible would 
move the world ! But people are held by these, as under the 
stupefying influence of the most powerful intoxicant. 

To come now more particularly to the application of the 
prophecy concerning the fall of Babylon, let us see how the 
religious world stood with reference to the possibility of such a 
change, when the time came for the proclamation of this mes- 
sage, in connection with the first message, about the year 1844. 
Paganism was only apostasy and corruption in the beginning, 
and is so still; and no moral fall is possible there. Catholicism 
has been for centuries about as low in the scale as it is possible 
for a church to sink. No room for a moral fall in that church. 
Two great branches of Babylon were, therefore, when the sec- 
ond message became due, in so low a condition morally that a 
further declension with them was scarcely possible. Not so, 
however, with the Protestant branch of this great city. These 
churches, which commenced the great work of reformation 
from papal corruption, had done some noble work. They had 
run well for a season. They reached a moral plane vastly 
higher than that of the other divisions named. They were, in 
a word, in such a position that with them a moral fall was pos- 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



611 



sible. The conclusion is therefore inevitable that the message 
announcing the fall had reference almost wholly to the Protes- 
tant churches. 

The question may then be asked why this announcement 
was not made sooner, if so large a portion of Babylon, the 
pagan and papal divisions, had been so long fallen. And the 
answer is at hand: Babylon, as a whole, could not be said to 
be fallen so long as one division of it remained unf alien. It 
eould not be announced, therefore, till a change for the worse 
came over the Protestant world, and the truth, through which 
alone the path of progress lay, had been deliberately discarded. 
But when this took place, and a moral fall was experienced in 
this last division, then the announcement concerning Babylon 
as a whole could be made, as it could not have been made 
before, — "Babylon is fallen." 

It may be proper to inquire further how the reason assigned 
for the fall of Babylon, namely, because she made all nations 
drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, would apply 
to the Protestant churches at the time in question. And the 
answer is, It would apply most pertinently. The fault with 
Babylon lies in her confusion and false doctrines. Because 
she industriously propagates these, clinging to them when 
light and truth which would correct them is offered, she falls. 
With the Protestant churches, the time had come for an advance 
to higher religious ground. They could accept the proffered 
light and truth, and reach the higher attainment, or they could 
reject it, and lose their spirituality and favor with God, or, 
in other words, experience a moral fall. The truth which God 
saw fit to use as an instrument in this work was the first mes- 
sage. The hour of God's Judgment come, and the approximate 
second advent of Christ, was the doctrine preached. After 
listening long enough to see the blessing that attended the doc- 
trine, and the good results that flowed from it, the churches, as 
a whole, rejected it with scorn and scoffing. They were thereby 
tested; for they then plainly betrayed the fact that their hearts 
were with the world, not with the Lord, and that they preferred 
to have it so. But the message would have healed the evils then 



612 



THE REVELATION. 



existing in the religious world. The prophet exclaims, perhaps 
with reference to this very time, ' ' We would have healed 
Babylon, but she is not healed." Jer. 51:9. Do you ask 
how we know this would have been the effect of receiving the 
message ? We answer, Because this was the effect with all who 
did receive it. They' came from different denominations, and 
then- denominational barriers were leveled to the ground; con- 
flicting creeds were shivered to atoms; the unscriptural hope 
of a temporal millennium was abandoned; false views of the 
second advent were corrected; pride and conformity to the 
world were swept away; wrongs were made right; hearts were 
united in the sweetest fellowship; and love and joy reigned 
supreme. If the doctrine did this for the few who did receive 
it, it would have done the same for all, if all had received it. 

But the message was rejected; and what was the result? 
The result upon those who rejected it will be spoken of by and 
by; the result upon those who received it, demands mention 
here. Everywhere throughout the land the cry w^as raised, 
" Babylon is fallen," and, in anticipation of the movement 
brought to view in Kev. 18 : 1-4, they added, "Come out of 
her, my people;" and about fifty thousand severed their con- 
nection with the denominations where they were not allowed to 
hold and proclaim their views in peace. 

A marked change then came over the churches in respect to 
their spiritual condition. On the hypothesis that the proclama- 
tion of the second coming of Christ was in the order of prophetic 
fulfilment, and that the message was the 4£ present truth" for 
that time, the result could not have been different. When a 
person refuses the light, he necessarily shuts himself in dark- 
ness; when he rejects truth, he inevitably forges the shackles 
of error about his own limbs. Loss of spirituality — a moral 
fall — must follow. This the churches experienced. They 
chose to adhere to old errors, and still promulgate their false 
doctrines among the people. The light of truth must therefore 
leave them. Some of them felt and deplored the change. A 
few testimonies from their own writers will describe their con- 
dition at that time. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



613 



The Christian Palladium of May 15, 1844, spoke in the 
following mournful strain : "In every direction we hear the 
dolorous sound, wafting upon every breeze of heaven, chilling 
as the blast from the icebergs of the north, settling like an in- 
cubus on the breasts of the timid, and drinking up the energies 
of the weak, that lukewarmness, division, anarchy, and desola- 
tion are distressing the borders of Zion. " 

In 1844 the Religious Telescope used the following lan- 
guage: " We have never witnessed such a general declension of 
religion as at the present. Truly, the church should awake, 
and search into the cause of this affliction; for as an affliction 
every one that loves Zion must view it. When we call to 
mind how ' few and far between ' cases of true conversion are, 
and the almost unparalleled impenitence and "hardness of sin- 
ners, we almost involuntarily exclaim, ' Has God forgotten to 
be gracious ? or is the door of mercy closed ? ' " 

About that time, proclamations of fasts and seasons of 
prayer for the return of the Holy Spirit were sent out in the 
religious papers. Even the Philadelphia Sun of Nov. 11, 1844, 
had the following : 6 ' The undersigned ministers and members 
of various denominations in Philadelphia and vicinity, solemnly 
believing that the present signs of the times — the spiritual 
dearth of our churches generally and the extreme evils in the 
world around us — seem to call loudly on all Christians for a 
special season of prayer, do therefore hereby agree, by divine 
permission, to unite in a week of special prayer to Almighty 
God, for the outpouring of his Holy Spirit on our city, our 
country, and the world. ? ' 

Professor Finney, editor of the Oberlin Evangelist, in Feb- 
ruary, 1844, said: "We have had the facts before our minds, 
that, in general, the Protestant churches of our country, as 
such, were either apathetic or hostile to nearly all the moral 
reforms of the age. There are partial exceptions, yet not 
enough to render the fact otherwise than general. We have 
also another corroborative fact, — the almost universal absence 
of revival influence in the churches. The spiritual apathy is 
almost all-pervading, and is fearfully deep; so the religious 



614 



THE REVELATION. 



press of the whole land testifies. Yery extensively, church- 
members are becoming devotees of fashion, joining hands with 
the ungodly in parties of pleasure, in dancing, in festivities, 
etc. But we need not expand this painful subject. Suffice it 
that the evidence thickens and rolls heavily upon us, to show 
that the churches generally are becoming sadly degenerate. 
They have gone very far from the Lord, and he has withdrawn 
himself from them." 

Should it be said that our views of the moral fall and spirit- 
ual dearth of the churches are shown to be incorrect by the 
great revivals of 1858, the testimony of the leading Congrega- 
tional and Baptist papers of Boston relative to these revivals 
would correct that impression. 

The Congregationalist, November, 1858, said: c< The revi- 
val piety of our churches is not such that one can confidently 
infer, from its mere existence, its legitimate, practical fruits. 
It ought, for example, to be as certain, after such a shower of 
grace, that the treasuries of our benevolent societies would be 
filled, as it is after a plentiful rain that the streams will swell 
in their channels. But the managers of our societies are be- 
wailing the feebleness of the sympathy and aid of the churches. 

" There is another and sadder illustration of the same gen- 
eral truth. The Watchman and Reflector recently stated that 
there had never been among the Baptists so lamentable a spread 
of church dissension as prevails at present; and the sad fact is 
mentioned that this sin infects the very churches which shared 
most largely in the late revival. And the still more melan- 
choly fact is added that these alienations date back their origin, 
in most cases, to the very midst of that scene of awakening. 
Even a glance at the weekly journals of our own denomination 
will evince that the evil is by no means confined to the Baptists. 
Our own columns have, perhaps, never borne so humiliating a 
record of contentions and ecclesiastical litigations as during the 
last few months." 

A Presbyterian pastor of Belfast, Ireland (1858), used the 
following language respecting the then recent revivals in this 
country, according to the New York Independent of December, 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



615 



1859 : "The determination to crush all ministers who say a 
word against their national sin [slavery], the determination to 
suffocate and suppress the plain teachings of Scripture, can be 
persisted in and carried out at the very time these New York 
Christians are expecting the religious world to hail their revi- 
vals. Until the wretchedly degraded churches of America do 
the work of God in their own land, they have no spiritual 
vitality to communicate to others; their revivals are in the 
religious world what their flaunted cries of liberty, intermingled 
with the groans of the slave, are in the political." 

During the time of the great Irish revival of 1859, the 
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland held 
its session in Belfast. Of a strange scene that occurred in that 
Assembly the Belfast News Letter of September 30, said: "Here 
in this venerable body of ministers and elders, we find two min- 
isters openly giving each other the lie, and the whole General 
Assembly turned into a scene of confusion bordering upon 
a riot." 

This is a sad and deplorable picture; and what has been 
the course of events, and the tendency in the deportment of 
professed Christians, since that time ? There is considerable 
spasmodic action in some localities, and much effort put forth 
by sensational revivalists to excite the emotions, but no perma- 
nent good seems to be accomplished, and the standard of godli- 
ness sinks lower and lower. 

Some new features have been added to the facilities for 
church work, and have now come to be considered almost in- 
dispensable appendages to the house of worship; and one of 
these is nothing less than a well-appointed kitchen, where the 
feast can be made ready, and dainty delicacies prepared for the 
most perverted appetite. One instance may serve as an illus- 
tration of all in this line. When the " Centenary Methodist 
Episcopal Church " was erected in Chicago, the Tribune^ of 
that" city, in its description of the building, made particular 
mention of the following features: — 

' ' Beneath the vestibule and parlors is a basement, consist- 
ing of a large dining-hall, furnished with table accommodations 



616 



THE REVELATION. 



for one hundred and fifty persons; a kitchen, with cooking 
apparatus, sinks, closets, dressing-rooms, etc. The basement, 
under the vestibule and parlors, secures some desirable advan- 
tages; the social gatherings can be made agreeable and pleas- 
ant without introducing the refreshments into the lecture room 
or parlors." 

Think of a,, kitchen as being considered a necessary apart- 
ment in a house of worship ! What would the venerable and 
godly church fathers and mothers of a generation ago have 
thought of this ? The Scriptures declare that eating and 
drinking and pleasure- seeking, instead of God-serving, even on 
the part of professed Christians, will characterize the last days 
as a sign of the times. Luke 17:26-30; 2 Tim. 3:4, 5. 
Have we not reached the time when this is fulfilled ? What 
indulgence is there in the whole catalogue of worldly pleasures 
which is not openly tolerated in the church — nay, which is 
not largely fostered by the church ? Dancing, card-playing, 
theater-going, horse-racing, gambling, lotteries, festivals, fairs, 
and all forms of gluttony, are freely patronized in religious 
circles, and many of these things for so-called religious 
purposes. 

Not many years ago, an entertainment was devised for the 
benefit of a church in New Orleans, of such a nature that it 
required a handbill to describe it, reading as follows : — 

" Benefit of Christ's Church Parochial School. Near the 
dancing platform are a splendid booth and a large canvas tent, 
with seats reserved for the accommodation of ladies and chil- 
dren. The patrons of this church, as well as the public, will 
here find a soda-water stand and confectionery, a. restaurant 
filled with everything to satisfy the appetites of epicureans; 
and also a splendid bar, stocked with the choicest kinds of 
liquors, cigars, etc." 

The New York Observer copied this, with the following 
remarks : — 

"This is a copy of a handbill conspicuously posted in New 
Orleans at the present time. The church for which this splen- 
did bar is to be opened is called Christfs church; but our pri- 
vate opinion is, if Christ attends the fair, he will come with a 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



617 



scourge of large cords, and drive out every man and woman 
who dishonors his house and name with such things as these. 
Call it a church if you will; but for Christ's sake, O New 
Orleans people, don't call it Christfs church. Anything but 
that!" 

To whatever denomination this church belonged, it shows 
just the same what is done in these days in the name of 
religion. 

As an illustration of the effect of church lotteries, the 
Watchman relates the following : — 

< ' A member of a church went to his pastor, and entreated 
his personal intercession with his favorite son, who had become 
ruinously addicted to the vice of gambling. The pastor con- 
sented, and seeking the young man, found him in his chamber. 
He commenced his lecture; but before he concluded, the young 
man laid his hand upon his arm, and drew his attention to a 
pile of splendid volumes that stood upon the table. ' Well, ' 
said the young man, ' these volumes were won by me at a fair 
given in your church; they were my first venture. But for that 
lottery, under the patronage of a Christian church, I should 
never have become a gambler. ' ' ' 

A minister, B. F. Booth, speaks as follows in the Golden 
Censer : — 

' ' I hide my face in shame, when I hear of a governor of 
a State being compelled to call upon the law-making depart- 
ment of his State to pass laws to counteract the swindling 
carried on under the auspices of the church, under the name 
of church fairs, festivals, and other. forms of 'pious' church 
gambling." 

Pages might be filled with statements from leading men 
and papers in the religious world, acknowledging the low 
condition of the churches generally, and the many evil prac- 
tices of which they are unblushingly guilty; but it is unnec- 
essary to multiply testimony on this point. The sad and 
deplorable fact is too evident to be denied. 

The leading Methodist paper, the Christian Advocate, of 
Aug. 30, 1883, contains an article headed "The Greatest of 
Questions, ' ' from which we copy these statements : — 



618 



THE REVELATION. 



"1. Disguise it as you like, the church, in a general sense, 
is spiritually in a rapid decline. While it grows in numbers 
and money, it is becoming extremely feeble and limited in its 
spirituality, both in the pulpit and the pew. It is assuming 
the shape and character of the church at Laodicea. 

"2. There are thousands of ministers, local and Conference, 
and many thousands of the laity, who are as dead and worth- 
less as barren fig-trees. They contribute nothing of a temporal 
or spiritual nature to the progress and triumphs of the gospel 
throughout the earth. If all these dry bones in our church 
and its congregations could be resurrected, and brought into 
requisition by faithful, active service, what new and glorious 
manifestations of divine power would break forth!" 

The New York Independent of Dec. 3, 1896, gave an arti- 
cle from D. L. Moody, from which the following is an ex- 
tract : — 

"In a recent issue of your paper I saw an article from a 
contributor which stated that there were over three thousand 
churches in the Congregational and Presbyterian bodies of this 
country that did not report a single member added by profes- 
sion of faith last year. Can this be true ? The thought has 
taken such hold of me that I can't get it out of my mind. It is 
enough almost to send a thrill of horror through the soul of 
every Christian. 

k 'If this is the case with these two large denominations, 
what must be the condition of the others also ? Are we all 
going to sit still and let this thing continue ? Shall our relig- 
ious newspapers and our pulpits keep their mouths closed like 
' dumb dogs that cannot bark ' to warn people of approaching 
danger ? Should we not all lift up our voice like a trumpet 
about this matter ? What must the Son of God think of such a 
result of our labor as this ? What must an unbelieving world 
think about a Christianity that can't bring forth any more fruit ? 
And have we no care for the multitudes of souls going down to 
perdition every year while we all sit and look on ? And this 
country of ours, where will it be in the next ten years, if we 
don't awake out of sleep?" 



CHAPTER 14. VERSES 6-12. 



619 



The second angel's message is addressed to those organiza- 
tions where the people of God are mainly to be found; for they 
are specially addressed as being in Babylon, and at a certain 
time are called out. The message applies to the present gen- 
eration; and now God's people are to be looked for, certainly, 
in the Protestant organizations of Christendom. But as these 
churches depart farther and farther from God, they at length 
reach such a condition that true Christians can no longer main- 
tain a connection with them; and then they will be called out. 
This we look for in the future, in fulfilment of Key. 18 : 1—4:. 
We believe it will come, when, in addition to their corruptions, 
the churches begin to raise against the saints the hand of op- 
pression. (See further under the chapter last named.) 

The Third Message . — Commencing with verse 9, the third 
message reads as follows: "And the third angel followed them, 
saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the. beast and 
his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 
the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which 
is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; 
and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the pres- 
ence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and 
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: 
and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast 
and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep 
the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 

This is a message of most fearful import. ~No severer 
threatening of divine wrath can be found in all the Bible. 
The sin against which it warns must be a terrible sin, and it 
must be one so plainly defined that all who will may under- 
stand it, and thus know how to avoid the judgments denounced 
against it. 

It will be noticed that these messages are cumulative: that 
is. one does not^cease when another is introduced. Thus, for a 
time the first message was the only one going forth. The sec- 
ond message was introduced, but that did not put an end to 
the first. From that, time there were two messages. The third 



620 



THE REVELATION. 



followed them, not to supersede them, but only to join with 
them, so that we now have three messages going forth simul- 
taneously, or, rather, a threefold message, embracing the truths 
of all three, the last one, of course, being the leading proclama- 
tion. Till the work is done, it will never cease to be true that 
the hour of God's judgment has come, nor that Babylon has 
fallen; and these facts still continue to be proclaimed in con- 
nection with the truths introduced by the third message. 

There will also be noticed a logical connection between the 
messages themselves. Taking our stand just before the first 
message was introduced, we see the Protestant religious world 
sadly in need of reformation. Divison and confusion reigned 
among the churches. They were still clinging to many papal 
errors and superstitions. The power of the gospel was im- 
paired in their hands. To correct these evils, the doctrine of 
the second coming of Christ was introduced, and proclaimed 
with power. They should have received it, and been quickened 
by it into new life, as they would have been had they received it. 
Instead of this, they rejected it, and suffered the consequences 
spiritually. Then followed the second message, announcing 
the result of that rejection, and declaring what was not only a 
fact in itself, but a judicial judgment of God upon them for 
their recreancy in this respect; namely, that God had departed 
from them, and they had met with a moral fall. 

This did not have the effect to arouse them, and lead them 
to correct their errors, as it was sufficient to do had they been 
willing to be admonished and corrected. And now what fol- 
lows ? — The way is open for a still further retrograde move- 
ment, — for deeper apostasy and still greater evils. The powers 
of darkness will press forward their work, aud if the churches 
still persist in this course of shunning light and rejecting truth, 
they will soon find themselves worshiping the beast and receiv- 
ing his mark. This will be the logical sequence of that course 
of action which commenced with the rejection of the first mes- 
sage. And now another proclamation is sent forth, announcing 
in solemn tones that if any man shall do this, he shall drink of 
the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



621 



mixture into the cup of his indignation. That is to say, you 
rejected the first message, and met with a moral fall; continue 
to reject truth and disregard the warnings sent out, and you 
will exhaust God's last means of grace, and by and by meet 
with a literal destruction for which there will be no remedy. 
This is as severe a threatening as God can make to be inflicted 
in this life, and it is the last. A few will heed it and be 
saved; the multitude will pass on, and perish. 

The proclamation of the third message is the last special 
religious movement to be made before the Lord appears; for 
immediately following this, John beholds one like the Son of 
man coming upon a great white cloud to reap the harvest of 
the earth. This can represent nothing else than the second 
coming of Christ. If, therefore, the coming of Christ is at the 
door, the time has come for the proclamation of this message. 
There are many who claim the name < ' Adventist, ' ' and who 
with voice and pen are earnestly teaching that we are in the 
last days of time, and that the coming of Christ is at the door; 
but when we remind them of this prophecy, they are suddenly 
at sea, without anchor, chart, or compass. They know not 
what to do with it. They can see as well as we that if what 
they are teaching respecting the coming of Christ is true, and 
the Lord is at hand, somewhere — yes, all over the land — 
should be heard the warning notes of this third message. It is 
now due; and if it is not now going forth, it follows that we are 
not in the last days, or that this prophecy is a failure; but 
this they cannot consistently admit. At the same time, they 
know that they are not giving it, and they do not claim to be 
giving it; and they can point to none who are giving it, ex- 
cept it be a certain class who profess that that is the very work 
they are doing. But to admit the claims of this class would be 
to condemn themselves. Their perplexity would be deserving 
of commiseration, were it not that those who will accept an 
embarrassing dilemma rather than acknowledge the truth, are 
not justly entitled to much sympathy. 

The arguments on the two preceding messages fix the chro- 
nology of the third, and show that it belongs to the present 



622 



THE REVELATION. 



time; but, as in the case of the former, the best evidence in 
behalf of the proposition that the message is now going to the 
world, is to be able to point to events which demonstrate the 
fulfilment. Having identified the first message as a leading 
proclamation with the great Advent movement of 1840-44, 
and having seen the fulfilment of the second message in con- 
nection with that movement in the latter year, let us look at 
what lias transpired since that time. 

When the time passed in 1844, the whole Adventist body 
was thrown into more or less confusion. Many gave up the 
movement entirely; more jumped to the conclusion that the 
argument on the time was wrong, and immediately went to 
work to readjust the prophetic periods, and set a new time for 
the Lord to come — a work in which they have continued more 
or less to the present time, fixing a new date as each one passed 
- by, to the scandal of the Advent movement, and the discredit, 
so far as their limited influence extended, of all prophetical 
study ; a few, searching closely and candidly for the cause of 
the mistake, were confirmed in their views of the providential 
character of the Advent movement, and the correctness of the 
argument on the time, but saw that a mistake had been made 
on the subject of the sanctuary, by which the disappointment 
could be explained. They learned, that the sanctuary was not 
this earth, as had been supposed; that the cleansing was not to 
be by fire; and that the prophecy on this point did not involve 
the coming of the Lord at all. They found in the Scriptures 
very clear evidence, that the sanctuary referred to was the tem- 
ple in heaven, which Paul calls -'the sanctuary," the "true 
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man; " and that its 
cleansing, according to the type, would consist of the final 
ministration of the priest in the second apartment, or most holy 
place. They then saw that the time had come for the fulfil- 
ment of Eev. 11 : 19: " And the temple of G-od was opened in 
heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his 
testament. ' ' 

Having their attention thus called to the ark, they were 
naturally led to an examination of the law contained in the ark. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



623 



That the ark contained the law was evident from the very name 
applied to it. It was called "the ark of his testament;" but 
it would not have been the ark of his "testament," and it 
could not have been so called, had it not contained the law. 
Here, then, was the ark in heaven, the great antitype of the 
ark, which, during the typical dispensation, existed here on 
earth; and the law which this heavenly ark contained must con- 
sequently be the great original of which the law on the tables 
in the earthly ark was but a transcript, or copy; and both must 
read precisely alike, word for word, jot for jot, tittle for tittle. 
To suppose otherwise would involve not only falsehood, but the 
greatest absurdity. That law, then, is still the law of God's 
government, and its fourth precept, now as in the beginning, 
demands the observance of the seventh day of the week as the 
Sabbath. Xo one who admits the argument on the sanctuary 
pretends to dispute this point. Thus the Sabbath reform was 
brought to view, and it was seen that whatever had been done 
in opposition to this law, especially in the introduction of a day 
of rest and worship which destroyed the Sabbath of Jehovah, 
must be the work of the papal beast, that power which was to 
oppose God, and try to exalt himself above him. But this is 
the very work in reference to which the third angel utters his 
warning; hence it began to be seen that the period of the third 
message synchronizes with the period of the cleansing of the 
sanctuary, which began with the ending of the 2300 days in 
1844. and that the proclamation is based on the great truths 
developed by this subject. 

Thus the dawning light of the third message rose upon the 
church. But they saw at once that the world would have a 
right to demand of those who professed to be giving that mes- 
sage, an explanation of all the symbols which it contains, — the 
beast, the image, the worship, and the mark; hence these points 
were made subjects of special study. The testimony of the 
Scriptures was found to be clear and abundant; and it did not 
take a great while to formulate from the truths revealed, 
definite statements and propositions in explanation of ail these 
points. 



624 



THE REVELATION. 



The argument showing what constitutes the beast, the image, 
and the mark, has already been given in chapter 13 ; and it has 
been shown that the two-horned beast, which erects the ima^e 
and enforces the mark, is our own country, now in mid career, 
and hastening forward to perform the very work assigned it in 
the prophecy. It is this work, and these agents, against which 
the third message utters its warning, which is still further proof 
that this message is now in order, and shows the most conclu- 
sive harmony in all these prophecies. The arguments we need 
not here repeat; it will be sufficient to recapitulate the points 
established. 

1. The "beast" is the Roman Catholic power. 

2. The "mark of the beast " is that institution which this 
power has set up as proof of its authority to legislate for the 
church, and command .the consciences of men under sin. It 
consists in a change of the law of God, by which the signature 
of royalty is taken from the law,- — the seventh-day Sabbath, 
the great memorial of Jehovah's creative work, is torn from its 
place in the decalogue, and a false and counterfeit Sabbath, the 
first day of the week, is set up in its stead. 

3. The "image of the beast " is some ecclesiastical combi- 
nation, which will resemble the beast in being clothed with 
power to enforce its decrees with the pains and penalties of 
the civil law. 

4. The two-horned beast, by which the image, after being 
made by the people, is given power to speak and act, is the 
United States; and all but the final steps toward the formation 
of the image are already seen. 

5. The two-horned beast enforces the mark of the beast; 
that is, he establishes by law the observance of the first day of 
the week, or Sunday Sabbath. What is being done in this 
direction has already been noticed. The movement is urged 
on by individuals, by organized Sabbath committees, by poli- 
ticians, indirectly by the infidel element, by the National Re- 
form Association, by the American Sabbath (Sunday ) Union, 
by the W. C. T. U., and by the Christian Endeavorers, with 
their Good Citizenship Leagues, etc. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



625 



But the people are not to be left to act in the dark in this 
matter. The third message utters a solemn protest against all 
this evil. It exposes the work of the beast, shows the nature 
of its opposition to the law of God, warns the people against 
compliance with its demands, and points out to all the way of 
truth. This naturally excites opposition; and the church is led 
so much the more to seek the aid of human authority in be- 
half of its dogmas as they are shown to lack the divine. 

In the interests of these messages, the publication of a 
paper called the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, was com- 
menced in 1850, which has continued to the present time, cir- 
culating in every State and Territory of the Union, and in 
many foreign countries. The Signs of the Times, published 
weekly in Oakland, Cal., has attained a still larger circulation. 
The American Sentinel, published in New York, devoted more 
especially to the subject of Religious Liberty, discussed in pre- 
vious pages of this book, has a large and growing subscription 
list. The Present Truth, published in London, England, and 
the Bible Echo, and the Southern Sentinel, in Melbourne, Aus- 
tralia, are devoted to the advocacy of the same views. The 
South African Sentinel, has recently been started in Cape 
Town, South Africa. Other periodicals have been established 
in different places, and in different languages, to the number of 
nineteen. Besides the Central Publishing House at Battle 
Creek, Mich, (with a branch office in Atlanta, Ga.), publish- 
ing houses have -been established in Oakland, Cal. (with 
branch offices in New York City and Kansas City ) ; London, 
England ; Christiania, Norway ; Melbourne, Australia ; Cape 
Town, South Africa; Hamburg, Germany; Basel, Switzerland; 
Toronto, Canada; and Chicago, 111. The catalogue of books 
comprises a long list, from the penny tract, to the three-dollar 
volume; and the total number of pages issued up to Jan. 1, 
1897, was over one thousand million. The list comprises 
books and papers in thirty-one different languages. Thirty- 
six conferences have been organized in the American Union, 
Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. In all 
these conferences, tract and missionary societies are organized. 

40 



626 THE REVELATION. 



Hundreds of ministers and evangelists are proclaiming the 
principles of this message all around the world. This is a 
beginning, and a promise of greater things. 

This movement is at least a phenomenon to be explained. 
We have found movements which fulfil most strikingly and 
accurately the first and second messages. Here is another 
which now challenges the attention of the world as a fulfil- 
ment of the third. It claims to be a fulfilment, and asks the 
world to examine the credentials on which it bases its right to 
such a claim. Let us look at them. 

1. " The third angel followed them." So this movement 
follows the two previously mentioned. It takes up and con- 
tinues the promulgation of the truths they uttered, and adds to 
them what the third message involves besides. 

2. The third message is characterized as a warning against 
the beast. So this movement holds prominent among its 
themes an explanation of this symbol, telling the people what 
it is, and exposing its blasphemous claims and works. 

3. The third message warns all against worshiping the 
beast. So this movement explains how this beast-power has 
brought into Christendom certain institutions which antagonize 
the requirements of the Most High, and shows that if we yield 
to these, we worship this power. " Know ye not," says Paul, 
* i that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his serv- 
ants ye are to whom ye obey ? " Eom. 6 : 16. 

4. The third message warns all against receiving the mark 
of the beast. So this movement makes it the burden of its 
work to show what the mark of the beast is, and to warn 
against its reception. It is the more solicitous to do this, be- 
cause this anti-Christian power has worked so cunningly that 
the majority are deceived into making unconscious concessions 
to its authority. It is shown that the mark of the beast is an 
institution which has been arrayed in Christian garb, and in- 
sidiously introduced into the Christian church in such a way 
as to nullify the authority of Jehovah and enthrone that of the 
beast. Stripped of all disguises, it is simply setting up a coun- 
terfeit Sabbath of its own on the first day of the week, in place 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



627 



of the Sabbath of the Lord on the seventh day, — a usurpation 
which the great God cannot tolerate, and from which the rem- 
nant church must fully clear itself before it will be prepared 
for the coming of Christ. Hence the urgent warning, Let no 
man worship the beast or receive his mark. 

5. The third message has something to say against the wor- 
ship of the image of the beast. So this movement speaks of 
this subject also, telling what the image will be, or at least 
explaining the prophecy of the two-horned beast, which makes 
the image, showing that it is our own government; that here 
the image is to be formed; that the prophecy concerns this 
generation; and that it is evidently on the very verge of ful- 
filment. 

There is no religious enterprise going forward in the land 
except this by the Seventh-day Adventists, which claims to be 
a fulfilment of the third angel's message, — no other which 
holds forth, as its prominent themes, the very subjects of which 
this message is composed. What shall we do with these things ? 
Is this the fulfilment ? — It must so stand, unless its claims can 
be disproved; unless it can be shown that the first and second 
messages have not been heard ; that the positions taken in ref- 
erence to the beast, image, mark, and worship are not correct; 
and that all the prophecies, and signs, and evidences which 
show that the coming of Christ is near, and consequently that 
this message is due, can be wholly set aside. But this the 
intelligent Bible student will hardly undertake. 

The result of the proclamation, as declared in verse 12, still 
further proves the correctness of the positions here taken. It 
brings out a company of whom it can be said, 4< Here are they 
that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." 
In the very heart of Christendom this work is done; and those 
who receive the message are rendered peculiar by their practice 
in reference to the commandments of God. What difference 
is there in practice, and what only difference, among Christians, 
in this respect ? — Just this ; some think that the fourth com- 
mandment is kept by devoting the first day of the week to rest 
and worship; others claim that the seventh day is the one set 



628 



THE REVELATION. 



apart to such duties, and accordingly spend its hours in this 
manner, resuming on the first day their ordinary labor. No 
plainer line of demarkation could be drawn between two classes. 
The time which one class regard as sacred, and devote to relig- 
ious uses, the other look upon as only secular, and devote to 
ordinary labor. One class are devoutly resting, the other zeal- 
ously laboring. One class, pursuing their worldly vocations, 
find the other class withdrawn from all such pursuits, and the 
avenue of commercial intercourse abruptly closed. Thus for 
two days in the week these two classes are kept apart by differ- 
ence of theory and practice in regard to the fourth command- 
ment. On no other commandment could there be so marked, 
a difference. 

The message brings its adherents to the seventh day; for in 
this way only are they made peculiar, inasmuch as an observ- 
ance of the first day would not distinguish a person from the 
masses who were already observing that day when the message 
was introduced. And in this we find still further evidence that 
Sunday-keeping is the mark of the beast; for the message, pre- 
senting as its chief burden a warning against receiving the 
mark of the beast, will of course bring its adherents to discard 
that practice which constitutes the mark, and to adopt the oppo- 
site. It does lead them to discard the observance of the first 
day of the week, and adopt that of the seventh day. In view 
of this, it is at once seen that there is here more than an infer- 
ence that Sunday-keeping is the mark of the beast against which, 
it warns us, and the observance of the seventh day, to which 
it leads us, is its opposite. 

This is in harmony with the argument on the seal of God, 
as given in chapter 7. It was there shown that sign, seal, mark y 
and token are synonymous terms, and that God takes his Sab- 
bath to be his sign, mark, or seal, in reference to his people. 
Thus God has a seal, or mark, which is his Sabbath. The 
beast also has a seal, or mark, which is his Sabbath. One is 
the seventh day; the other is just as far removed from it as 
possible, even to the other extremity of the week, namely, the 
first day. Christendom will at last be divided into just two 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



629 



classes; to wit, those who are sealed with the seal of the living 
God, that is, have his mark, or keep his Sabbath; and those 
who are sealed with the seal of the beast, that is, have his 
mark, or keep his Sabbath. In reference to this issue, the 
third angel's message both enlightens and warns us. 

As so much importance, according to this argument, at- 
taches to the seventh day, the reader may ask for some evi- 
dence that a person cannot be said to keep the commandments 
of God unless he does keep the seventh day. This would 
involve a discussion of the whole Sabbath question, which it is 
not the province of this work to give. Though it may be 
proper to present here, as this much perhaps is called for in 
this connection, the leading facts connected with the Sabbath 
institution, — facts which are fully sustained in the works re- 
ferred to in note below. 1 

1. The Sabbath was instituted in the beginning, at the 
conclusion of the first week of time. Gen. 2:1, 2. 

2. It was the seventh day of that week, and was based on 
facts which are inseparably connected with its very name and 
existence, — facts which never can become untrue, and never 
can be changed. God's resting on the seventh day made it his 
rest-day, or the Sabbath (rest) of the Lord; and it can never 
cease to be his rest-day, as that fact never can be changed. 
He sanctified, or set apart, the day then and there, the record 
states; and that sanctification can never cease, unless it be 
removed by an act on the part of Jehovah as direct and explicit 
as that by which he placed it upon the day in the beginning. 
No one claims that this has ever been done, and he could not 
prove it if he did so claim. 

3. The Sabbath has nothing in it of a typical, shadowy, or 
ceremonial nature ; for it was instituted before man sinned, 



i As a standard work on the question, we refer the reader to the History of the 
Sabbath and First Day of the Week, by Elder J. N. Andrews, published at the Review 
and Herald Office, Battle Creek, Mich., in which the question as related to the two 
days is thoroughly discussed from both a Biblical and a historical standpoint. But 
many less exhaustive works are issued at the Office above named, according to 
its catalogue, and at other offices herein named, which are conclusive, so far as 
they carry the argument. 



630 



THE REVELATION. 



and hence belongs to a time when, in the very nature of things,- 
a type, or shadow, could not exist. 

4. The laws and institutions which existed before man's 
fall were primary in their nature; they grew out of the re- 
lation between God and man, and man and man, and were 
such as would always have remained if man never had sinned, 
and were not affected by his sin. In other words, they were, 
in the very nature of things, immutable and eternal. Cere- 
monial and typical laws owed their origin to the fact that 
man had sinned, as they never would have existed had this 
never been a fact. These were from dispensation to dispensa- 
tion subject to change; and these, and these only, were abol- 
ished at the cross. The Sabbath law was a primary law, 
and therefore immutable and eternal. 

5. The sanctification of the Sabbath in Eden renders its 
existence certain from creation to Sinai. Here it was placed 
in the very bosom of the decalogue as God spoke it with an 
audible voice, and wrote it with his finger on tables of stone, — 
circumstances which forever separate it from ceremonial laws, 
and place it among the moral and eternal. 

6. The Sabbath is not indefinite, any seventh day after six 
of labor. The law from Sinai (Ex. 20 : 8-11) makes' it as 
definite as language can make it; the events that gave it birth 
(Gen. 2 : 1-3) confine it to the definite seventh day ; and the 
6210 Sabbath miracles in the wilderness, three each week for 
forty years ; namely, (1) a double portion of manna on the sixth 
day, (2) the preservation of the sixth-day manna on the seventh 
day, and (3) none on the seventh day (see Exodus 16), show that 
it is one particular day, and not simply a proportion of time. 
To claim otherwise would be like claiming that Washington's 
birthday or Independence day was only a 365th part of a year, 
and might be celebrated on any other day as well as the day 
upon which it occurred. 

7. The Sabbath is a part of that law which our Lord openly . 
declared that he came not to destroy. On the other hand, he 
most solemnly affirmed that it should endure in every jot and 
tittle while the earth should continue. Matt. 5 : 17-20. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 6-12. 



631 



8. It is a part of that law which Paul declares is not made 
void, but established, by faith in Christ. Rom. 3 : 31. The 
ceremonial, or typical, law, which pointed to Christ and ceased 
at the cross, is made void, or superseded, by faith in him. 
Eph. 2 : 15. 

9. It is a part of that royal law, a law pertaining to the 
King Jehovah, which James declares is a law of liberty, and 
which shall judge us at the last day. God does not have 
different standards of judgment for different ages of the world. 
James 2 : 11, 12. 

10. It is the < ' Lord's day " of Rev. 1 : 10. (See argument 
on that verse.) 

* 11. It appears as the institution in reference to which a 
great reform is predicted in the last days. Isa. 56 : 1, 2 com- 
pared with 1 Peter 1:5. Under this head would also come the 
message under consideration. 

12. And in the new creation, the Sabbath, true to its 
origin and nature, again appears, and will thenceforward shed 
its blessings upon God's people through all eternity. Isa. 
66 : 22, 23. 

Such is a brief synopsis of some of the arguments to show 
that the Sabbath law has been in no wise relaxed, and the 
institution in no way changed; and that a person cannot be 
said to keep the commandments of God unless he keeps it. To 
have to do with such an institution is a high honor. To pay 
heed to its claims will prove an infinite blessing. 

The Punishment of Beast-worshipers. — These shall be tor- 
mented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy 
angels and of the Lamb. When is this torment inflicted ? 
Chapter 19 : 20 shows that at the second coming of Christ there 
is a manifestation of fiery judgments which may be called a 
lake of fire and brimstone, into which the beast and false 
prophet are cast alive. This can refer only to the destruction 
visited upon them at the commencement, not at the end, of the 
thousand years. Again, there is a remarkable passage in Isaiah 
to which we are obliged to refer in explanation of the phrase- 
ology of the threatening of the third angel, and which unques- 



632 



THE REVELATION. 



tionably describes scenes to take place here at the second 
advent, and in the desolate state of the earth during the thousand 
years following. That the language in the Revelation was bor- 
rowed from this prophecy can hardly fail to be seen. After 
describing the Lord's anger upon the nations, the great slaughter 
of their armies, the departing of the heavens as a scroll, etc., 
the prophet says : " For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, 
and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And 
the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust 
thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burn- 
ing pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke 
thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it 
shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever. ' 1 
Isa. 34 : 8-10. And since it is expressly revealed that there is 
to be a lake of fire in which all sinners perish at the end of the 
thousand years, we can only conclude that the destruction of 
the living wicked at the commencement of this period, and the 
final doom of all the ungodly at its close, are very similar. 

Duration of the Punishment. — The expression ' ' forever 
and ever " cannot here denote eternity. This is evident from 
the fact that this punishment is inflicted on this earth, where 
time is measured by day and night. This is further shown from 
the passage in Isaiah already referred to, if that is, as above sug- 
gested, the language from which this is borrowed, and applies 
to the same time That language is spoken of the land of 
Idumea; but whether it be taken to mean literally the land 
of Edom, south and east of Judea, or to represent, as it doubt- 
less does, this whole earth at the time when the Lord Jesus 
shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, and the year of 
recompenses for the controversy of Zion comes, in either case 
the scene must eventually terminate; for this earth is finally to 
be made new, cleansed of every stain of sin, every vestige of 
suffering and decay, and to become the habitation of righteous- 
ness and joy throughout eternal ages. The word a\6v here 
translated forever, Schrevelius, in his Greek Lexicon, defines 
thus: "An age; a long period of time; indefinite duration; 
time, whether longer or shorter." (For a discussion of the 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 13-16. 633 

meaning of this term, see the work entitled, Here and Here- 
after. Review and Herald Office, Battle Creek, Mich.) 

The period of the third message is a time of patience with 
the people of God. Paul and James both give us instruction 
on this point. Heb. 10 : 36; James 5 : 7, 8. Meanwhile, this 
waiting company are keeping the commandments of God — the 
ten commandments, and the faith of Jesus — all the teachings of 
Christ and his apostles as contained in the New Testament. 
The true Sabbath, as given in the decalogue, is thus brought 
out in vivid contrast with the counterfeit Sabbath, the mark of 
the beast, which finally distinguishes those who reject the third 
message, as already set forth. 

Verse 13. And I heard a voice from heaveD saying unto me, Write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith 
the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their works do fol- 
low them. 14. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the 
cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden 
crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15. And another angel came 
out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, 
Thrust in thy sickle, and reap : for the time is come for thee to reap ; for 
the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16. And he that sat on the cloud 
thrust in his sickle on the earth ; and the earth was reaped. 

A Solemn Crisis. — Events grow solemn as we near the 
end. It is this fact which gives to the third angel's message, 
now going forth, its unusual degree of solemnity and impor- 
tance. It is the last warning to go forth prior to the coming 
of the Son of man, here represented as seated upon a white 
cloud, a crown upon his head, and a sickle in his hand, to reap 
the harvest of the earth. We are fast passing over a line of 
prophecy which culminates in the revelation of the Lord Jesus 
from heaven in flaming fire, to take vengeance on his foes, and 
to reward his saints. Not only so, but we have come so near 
its accomplishment that the very next link in the chain is this 
crowning and momentous event. And time never rolls back. 
As the river does not flinch and fly as it approaches the preci- 
pice, but bears all floating bodies over with resistless power; 
and as the seasons never reverse their course, but summer fol- 
lows in the path of the budding fig-tree, and winter treads close 



634 



THE REVELATION. 



upon the falling leaf; so we are borne onward and onward, 
whether we will or not, whether prepared or not, to the una- 
voidable and irreversible crisis. Ah ! how little dream the 
proud professor and the careless sinner of the doom that is 
impending ! And how hard for even those who know and 
profess the truth to realize it as it is ! 

A Blessing Promised. — John is commanded by a voice 
from heaven to write, ' ' Blessed are the dead which die in the 
Lord from henceforth; " and the response of the Spirit is, "Yea, 
that they may rest from their labors; and their works do 
follow them." "From henceforth " must signify from some 
particular point of time. What point ? — Evidently from the 
commencement of the message in connection with which this is 
spoken. But why are those who die after this point of time 
blessed ? There must be some special reason for pronouncing 
this benediction upon them. Is it not because they escape the 
time of fearful peril which the saints are to encounter as they 
close their pilgrimage ? And while they are thus blessed in 
common with all the righteous dead, they have an advant- 
age over them in being, doubtless, that company spoken of in 
Dan. 12 : 2, who are raised to everlasting life at the standing 
up of Michael. Thus, escaping the perils through which the 
rest of the 144,000 pass, they rise, and share with them in their 
final triumph here, and occupy with them their pre-eminent 
place in the kingdom. 1 In this way, we understand, their 



i Those who die after having become identified with the third angel's message, 
are evidently numbered as a part of the 144,000 ; for this message is the same as the 
sealing message of Kevelation 7, and by that message only 144,000 were sealed. But 
there are many who have had their entire religious experience under this mes- 
sage, but have fallen in death. They die in the Lord, and hence are counted as 
sealed; for they will be saved. But the message results in the sealing of only 
144,000 ; therefore these must be included in that number. Being raised in the 
special resurrection ( Dan. 12 : 2 ; Kev. 1:7) which occurs when the voice of God is 
uttered from the temple, at the beginning of the seventh and last plague (Bev. 
16 : 17 ; Joel 3 : 16 ; Heb. 12 : 26), they pass through the period of that plague, and 
hence may be said to come " out of great tribulation " (Kev. 7 : 14), and being raised 
from the grave only to mortal life, they take their stand with believers who have 
not died, and with them receive immortality at the last trump (1 Cor. 15 : 52), being 
then, with the others, changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Thus, 
though they have passed through the grave, it can be said of them at last, that they 
are "redeemed from among men" (Rev. 14 : 4), that is, from among the living ; for 
the coming of Christ finds them among the living, waiting for the change to immor- 
tality, like those who have not died, and as if they themselves had never died. 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 13-16. 



635 



works follow them : these works are held in remembrance, to 
be rewarded at the Judgment; and the persons receive the 
same recompense that they would have had, had they lived 
and faithfully endured all the perils of the time of trouble. 

It will be noticed that in this line of prophecy, three angels , 
precede the Son of man on the white cloud, and three are in- 
troduced after that symbol. The opinion has already been 
expressed that literal angels are engaged in the scenes here 
described. The first three have charge of the three special 
messages, and may also symbolize a body of religious teachers. 
The message of the fourth angel is evidently to be uttered after 
the Son of man, having finished his priestly work, takes his 
seat upon the white cloud, but before he appears in the clouds 
of heaven. As the language is addressed to Him who is seated 
upon the white cloud, having in his hand a sharp sickle ready 
to reap, it must denote a message of prayer on the part of the 
church, after their work for the world is done and probation 
has ceased, and nothing remains but for the Lord to appear 
and take his people to himself. It is doubtless the day-and- 
night cry spoken of by our Lord in Luke 18:7, 8 in connec- 
tion with the coming of the Son of man. And this prayer 
will be answered; the elect will be avenged; for does not the 
parable read, " And shall not God avenge his own elect, which 
cry day and night unto him ? ' ' He that is seated upon the 
cloud will thrust in his sickle, and the saints, under the figure 
of the wheat of the earth, will be gathered into the heavenly 
garner. 

The Wheat Garnered. — " And he that sat on the cloud," 
says the prophecy, " thrust in his sickle on the earth; and 
the earth was reaped." By this language we are carried 
down past the second Advent, with its accompanying scenes 
of destruction to the wicked and salvation to the righteous. 
Beyond these scenes we must therefore look for the applica- 
tion of the following verses : — 

Verse 17. And another angel came out of the temple which is in 
heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18. And another angel came out 
from the altar, which had power over fire ; and cried with a loud cry to 



636 



THE REVELATION. 



him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and 
gather the clusters of the vine of the earth ; for her grapes are fully ripe. 

19. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the 
vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 

20. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out 
of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand 
and six hundred furlongs. 

The Winepress of God^s Wrath. — The last two angels have 
to do with the wicked, — the wicked, most fitly represented by 
the bloated and purple clusters of the vine of the earth. May 
it not be that the closing doom of that class at the end of 
the thousand years is here presented, the prophecy thus making 
a final disposition of both the righteous and the wicked; the 
righteous clothed with immortality, and safely established in 
the kingdom, the wicked perishing around the city at the time 
of its ultimate location upon the earth? 

This can hardly be applied at the time of the second advent; 
for events are here given in chronological order; and the 
destruction of the wicked would be contemporaneous with the 
gathering of the righteous. Again, the living wicked at 
Christ' s coming drink of the ' ' cup ' ' of his indignation ; but 
this passage brings to view the time when they perish in the 
u winepress " of his wrath, which is said to be trodden " with- 
out the city, ' ' answering completely to the description of Rev. 
20 : 9; and this latter expression would more naturally denote 
their complete and final destruction. 

The angel comes out of the temple, where the records are 
kept and the punishment is determined. The other angel has 
power over fire. This may have some connection with the fact 
that fire is the element by which the wicked are at last to be 
destroyed, although, to carry out the figure, the wicked, having 
been likened to the clusters of the vine of the earth, are said 
to be cast into the great winepress, which is trodden without 
the city. And blood comes out of the winepress, even to the 
horses' bridles. We know that the wicked are doomed to be 
swallowed up at last in a flood of all-devouring flame descend- 
ing from God out of heaven; but what preceding slaughter 
may take place among the doomed host, we know not. It is 



CHAPTER 14, VERSES 17-20. 



637 



not improbable that this language will be literally fulfilled. 
As the first four angels of this series denoted a marked move- 
ment on the part of the people of God, the last two may denote 
the same; for the saints are to have some part to act in meting 
out and executing the final punishment of the wicked. 1 Cor. 
6:2; Ps. 149 : 9. 

The Saints Triumphant. — Thus closes this chain of prophecy 
— closes as others close, with the complete triumph of God and 
Christ over all their foes, and with the glorious salvation that 
awaits the faithful followers of the Prince of life, forever 
secured. 



(Jof^HIS chapter introduces the seven last plagues, a mani- 
as WL festation of Heaven's unmingled wrath, and the fulness 
«j of its measure, for the last generation of the wicked. 
The work of mercy is then forever past. 

Verse 1. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, 
seven angels having the seven last plagues ; for in them is filled up the 
wrath of God. 2. And - 1 saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire : 
and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, 
and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of 
glass, having the harps of God. 3. And they sing the song of Moses the 
servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous 
are thy works, Lord God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, thou 
King of saints. 4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy 
name ? for thou only art holy : for all nations shall come and worship 
before thee ; for thy judgments are made manifest. 5. And after that I 
looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in 
heaven was opened : 6. And the seven angels came out of the temple, 
.having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having 
their breasts girded with golden girdles. 7. And one of the four beasts 
gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, 
who liveth forever and ever. 8. And the temple was filled with smoke 
from the glory of God, and from his power ; and no man was able to enter 
into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. 

A Preparatory Scene. — Thus reads the fifteenth chapter 
entire. By it we are carried back to a new series of events. 
The whole chapter is but an introduction to the most terrific 
judgments of the Almighty that ever have been, or are to be, 
visited upon this earth in its present state; namely, the seven 
[ 638 ] 



CHAPTER 15, VERSES 1-8. 



last plagues. The most that we here behold is a solemn 
preparation for the outpouring of these unmixed vials. Yerse 
5 shows that these plagues fall after the close of the ministra- 
tion in the sanctuary; for the temple is opened before they are 
poured out. They are given in charge to seven angels, and 
these angels are clothed in linen pure and white, a fit emblem 
of the purity of God's righteousness and justice in the infliction 
of these judgments. They receive these vials from one of the 
four beasts, or living creatures. These living beings were 
proved (see on chapter 4) to be a class of Christ's assistants 
in his sanctuary work. How appropriate, then, that they 
should be the ones to deliver to the ministers of vengeance the 
vials of wrath to be poured upon those who have slighted 
Christ's mercy, abused his long-suffering, heaped contumely 
upon his name, and crucified him afresh in the treatment of his 
followers ! While the seven angels are performing their fearful 
mission, the temple is filled with the glory of God, and no man 
— ovdelg (oudeis), no one, no being, referring to Christ and his 
heavenly assistants — can enter therein. This shows that the 
work of mercy is closed, as there is no ministration in the 
sanctuary during the infliction of the plagues ; hence they are 
manifestations of the wrath of God without any mixture of 
mercy. 

God^s People Remembered. — In this scene the people of 
God are not forgotten. The prophet is permitted to anticipate 
a little in verses 2-4, and behold them as victors upon the sea 
of glass as it were mingled with fire, or sparkling and refulgent 
with the glory of God, singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. 
The sea of glass, upon which these- victors stand, is the same as 
that brought to view in chapter 4:6, which was before the 
throne in heaven. And as we have no evidence that it has yet 
changed its location, and the saints are seen upon it, we have 
here indubitable proof, in connection with chapter 14 : 1-5, that 
the saints are taken to heaven to receive a portion of their 
reward. Thus, like the bright sun bursting through the mid- 
night cloud, some scene is presented, or some promise given, 
to the humble followers of the Lamb, in every hour of tempta- 



640 



THE REVELATION. 



tion, as if to assure and reassure them of God's love and care 
for them, and of the certainty of their final reward. Verily 
the words of the prophet are among the true sayings of God : 
" Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him; " but 
' ' Woe unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with him. ' ' Isa. 3 : 
10, 11. 

The song the victors sing, the song of Moses and the Lamb, 
given here in epitome in these words : ' ' Great and marvelous 
are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, 
thou King of saints, " is a song of infinite grandeur. How com- 
prehensive in its terms! how sublime in its theme! It appeals 
to the works of God which are a manifestation of his glory. 
With immortal vision the saints will be able to comprehend them 
as they cannot here; and yet astronomy reveals enough to fill 
all hearts with admiration. From our little world we pass out 
to our sun ninety-three million miles away; on to its nearest 
neighboring sun, nineteen thousand million miles away; on to 
the great double pole-star, from which it takes light in its elec- 
tric flight of one hundred and ninety-two thousand miles a 
second, forty years to reach our world; on past systems, groups, 
constellations, till we reach the great star Alcyone, in the 
Pleiades, shining with a power of twelve thousand suns like 
ours! What, then, must be the grand center around which 
these myriads of shining orbs revolve! Well may the song be 
raised, " Great and marvelous are thy works." But the song 
covers another field also — the field of God's providence and 
grace: "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." 
All the dealings of God with all his creatures in the eyes of the 
redeemed, and the sight of all worlds, will be forever vindicated. 
After all our blindness, all our perplexities, all our trials, we 
shall be able to exclaim at last in the exuberance of satisfied 
joy, "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." 




(gp^HIS chapter gives a description of the seven vials of the 
Mm- unmingled wrath of God, and the effects that follow as 
they are poured upon the earth. Concerning the char- 
acter and chronology of these plagues, there is a difference of 
opinion among Bible readers. Our first inquiry therefore is, 
What is the true position on these points ? Are they symbol- 
ical, and mostly fulfilled in the past, as some contend ? or are 
they literal, and all future, as others no less confidently affirm % 
A brief examination of the testimony will, we think, conclu- 
sively settle these questions. 

Verse 1. And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the 
seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God 
upon the earth. 2. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon 
the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men 
which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his 
image. 

The Chronology of the Plagues. — The description of this 
plague clearly reveals at once their chronology ; for it is 
poured out upon those who have the mark of the beast, and who 
worship his image, — the identical work against which the third 
angel warns us. This is conclusive proof that these judgments 
are not poured out till after this angel closes his work, and 
that the very class who hear his warning, and reject it, are 
the ones to receive the first drops from the overflowing vials 
of God's indignation. Now, if these plagues are in the past, 

41 [641] 



642 



THE REVELATION. 



tlie image of the beast and his worship are in the past. If 
these are past, the two-horned beast, which makes this image, 
and his work, are in the past. If these are past, then the 
third angePs message, which warns us in reference to this 
work, is in the past; and if this is past, — that is, ages in the 
past, where this view locates the commencement of the plagues, 
— then the first and second messages, which precede that, 
were also ages in the past. Then the prophetic periods, on 
which the messages are based, especially the 2300 days, ended 
ages ago. And if this is so, the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 
are thrown wholly into the Jewish dispensation, and the great 
proof of the Messiahship of Christ is destroyed. But it has 
been shown on chapters 7, 13, and 14, that the first and second 
messages have been given in our own day; that the third is 
now in process of accomplishment; that the two-horned beast 
has come upon the stage of action, and is preparing to do the 
work assigned him ; and that the formation of the image and 
the enforcement of the worship are just in the future. And 
unless all these positions can be overthrown, the seven last 
plagues must also be assigned wholly to the future. 

But there are other reasons for locating them in the future 
and not in the past. 

1. Under the fifth plague, men blaspheme God because of 
their sores, the same sores, of course, caused by the outpouring 
of the first plague. This shows that these plagues all fall upon 
one and the same generation of men, some being, no doubt, 
swept off by each one, yet some surviving through the terrible 
scenes of them all ; a fact utterly subversive of the position that 
they commenced far in the past, and occupy centuries each in 
their fulfilment, for how, then, could those who experience the 
first plague be alive under the fifth ? 

2. These plagues are the wine of God's wrath without mix- 
ture, threatened by the third angel. Chapter 14:10; 15:1. 
Such language cannot be applied to any judgments visited 
upon the earth while Christ pleads between his Father and our 
fallen race; hence we must locate them in the future, when 
probation shall have closed. 



CHAPTER 16, VERSES 1, 2. 



643 



3. Another and more definite testimony as to the com- 
mencement and duration of these plagues is found in chapter 
15 : 8 : "And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory 
of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter 
into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were 
fulfilled." The temple here introduced is evidently that which 
is mentioned in chapter 11 : 19, where it says, " The temple of 
God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple 
the ark of his testament. ' ' In other words, we have before us 
the heavenly sanctuary. The testimony is, then, that when the 
seven angels with the seven golden vials receive their com- 
mission, the temple is filled with smoke from the glory of God, 
and no being can enter into the temple, or 'sanctuary, till they 
have fulfilled their work; there will therefore be no ministra- 
tion in the sanctuary during this time. Consequently, these 
vials are not poured out till the close of the ministration in the 
tabernacle above, but immediately follow that event; for Christ 
is then no longer a mediator; mercy, which has long stayed 
the hand of vengeance, pleads no more; the servants of God 
are all sealed. What could then be expected but that the 
"storm of vengeance should fall," and earth be swept with 
the besom of destruction ? 

Having now shown the chronology of these judgments, that 
they are before us in the very near future, treasured up against 
the day of wrath, we proceed to inquire into their nature, and 
what will result when the solemn and fearful mandate shall go 
forth from the temple to the seven angels, saying, ' ' Go your 
ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the 
earth." Here we are called to look into the "armory" of 
the Lord, and behold the "weapons of his indignation." Jer. 
50 : 25. Here are brought forth the treasures of hail, which 
have been reserved against the time of trouble, against the 
day of battle and war. Job 38 : 22, 23. 

The First Plague. — 4 ' And the first went, and poured out 
his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous 
sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon 
them which worshiped his image. ' ' 



644 THE REVELATION. 

There is no apparent reason why this should not be re- 
garded as strictly literal. These plagues are almost identical 
with those which God inflicted upon the Egyptians as he was 
about to deliver his people from the yoke of bondage, the liter- 
ality of which is seldom, if ever, called in question. God is 
now about to crown his people with their final deliverance and 
redemption, and his judgments will be manifested in a manner 
no less literal and terrible. What the sore here threatened is, 
we are not informed. Perhaps it may be similar to the parallel 
plague which fell upon Egypt. Ex. 9 : 8-11. 

Verse 3. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea : 
and it became as the blood of a dead man ; and every living soul died in 
the sea. 

The Second Plague. — A more infectious and deadly sub- 
stance can scarcely be conceived of than the blood of a dead 
man; and the thought that the great bodies of water on the 
earth, which are doubtless meant by the term sea, will be 
changed to such a state under this plague, presents a fearful 
picture. We have here the remarkable fact that the term 
living soid is applied to irrational animals, the fish and liv- 
ing creatures of the sea. This is, we believe, the only instance 
of such an application in the English Version; in the origi- 
nal, however, it occurs frequently; showing that the term as 
applied to man in the beginning (Gen. 2 : 7) cannot be taken 
as furnishing any evidence that he is endowed with an imma- 
terial and immortal essence, called the soul. 

Verse 4. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and 
fountains of waters ; and they became blood. 5. And I heard the angel 
of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and 
shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 6. For they have shed the blood 
of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink ; for they 
are worthy. 7. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord 
God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. 

The Third Plague. — Such is the description of the terrible 
retribution for the "blood of saints" shed by violent hands, 
which will be given to those who have done, or wish to do, 
such deeds. And though the horrors of that hour when the 
fountains and rivers of water shall be like blood, cannot now 



CHAPTER 16, VERSES 3-11. 



645 



be realized, the justice of God will stand vindicated, and his 
judgments approved. Even the angels are heard exclaiming, 
Thou art righteous, O Lord, because thou hast judged thus; for 
they have shed the blood of saints and prophets. Even so, 
Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. 

It may be asked how the last generation of the wicked can 
be said to have shed the blood of saints and prophets, since the 
last generation of saints are not to be slain. A reference to 
Matt. 23:34, 35; 1 John 3:15, will explain. These scrip- 
tures show that guilt attaches to motive no less than to action; 
and no generation ever formed a more determined purpose to 
devote the saints to indiscriminate slaughter than the present 
generation will, not far in the future. (See chapter 12 : 17; 
13 : 15.) In motive and purpose, they do shed the blood of 
saints and prophets, and are every whit as guilty as though 
they were able to carry out their wicked intentions. 

It would seem that none of the human family could long 
survive a continuance of a plague so terrible as this. It must 
therefore be limited in its duration, as was the similar one on 
Egypt. Ex. 7 : 17-21, 25. 

Verse 8. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun ; 
and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9. And men 
were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which 
hath power over these plagues : and they repented not to give him glory. 

The Fourth Plague. — It is worthy of notice that every 
succeeding plague tends to augment the calamity of the pre- 
vious ones and highten the anguish of the guilty sufferers. 
We have now a noisome and grievous sore preying upon men, 
inflaming their blood, and pouring its feverish influence through 
their veins. In addition to this, they have only blood to allay 
their burning thirst; and, as if to crown all, power is given 
unto the sun, and he pours upon them a flood of liquid fire, 
and they are scorched with great heat. Here, as the record 
runs, their woe first seeks utterance in fearful blasphemy. 

Verse 10. And the fifth angel poured but his vial upon the seat of the 
beast ; and his kingdom was full of darkness ; and they gnawed their 
tongues for pain. 11. And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their 
pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. 



646 



THE REVELATION. 



The Fifth Plague. — An important fact is established by 
this testimony; namely, that the plagues do not at once destroy 
all their victims; for some who were at first smitten with sores, 
we find still living under the fifth vial, and gnawing their 
tongues for pain. An illustration of this vial will be found in 
Ex. 10 : 21-23. It is poured upon the seat of the beast, the 
papacy. The seat of the beast is wherever the papal See is 
located, which has been thus far, and without doubt will con- 
tinue to be, the city of Eome. "His kingdom" probably 
embraces all those who are subjects of the pope in an ecclesi- 
astical point of view, wherever they may be. 

As those who place the plagues in the past have the first 
five already wholly accomplished, we here pause a moment to 
inquire where, in past ages, the judgments here threatened 
have been fulfilled. Can judgments so terrible be inflicted, 
and nobody know it ? If not, where is the history of the fulfil- 
ment ? When did a noisome and grievous sore fall upon a 
specified and extensive portion of mankind ? When did the 
sea become as the blood of a dead man, and every living soul 
die in it ? When did the fountains and rivers become blood, 
and people have blood to drink ? When did the sun so scorch 
men with fire as to extort from them curses and blasphemy 1 
And when did the subjects of the beast gnaw their tongues for 
pain, and at the same time blaspheme God on account of their 
sores ? Interpreters who thus put such scenes in the past, 
where a shadow of fulfilment cannot be shown, openly invite 
the scoffs and ridicule of the skeptically minded against God's 
holy book, and furnish them with potent weapons for their de- 
plorable work. In these plagues, says Inspiration, is filled up 
the wrath of God; but if they can be fulfilled and nobody know 
it, who shall henceforth consider his wrath so terrible a thing, 
or shrink from his judgments when they are threatened ? 

Verse 12. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great 
river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the 
kings of the east might be prepared. 13. And I saw three unclean spirits 
like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of 
the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14. For they are the 
spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the 



CHAPTER 16, VERSES 12-10. 



647 



earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day 
of God Almighty. 15. Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that 
watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see 
his shame. 16. And he gathered them together into a place called in the 
Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 

The Sixth Plague.- — What is the great River Euphrates, 
upon which this vial is poured out ? — One view is that it is the 
literal River Euphrates in Asia; another is that it is a symbol of 
the nation occupying the territory through which that river 
flows. The latter opinion is preferable for the following 
reasons : — 

1. It would be difficult to see what end would be gained by 
the drying up of the literal river, as that would not offer an 
obstruction at all serious to the progress of an advancing army; 
and it should be noticed that the drying up takes place to pre- 
pare the way of the kings of the East; that is, regular military 
organizations, and not a promiscuous and unequipped crowd of 
men, women, and children, like the children of Israel at the 
Red Sea or at the Jordan. The Euphrates is only about 1400 
miles in length, or about one third the size of the Mississippi. 
Cyrus, without difficulty, turned the whole river from its channel 
at his siege of Babylon; and notwithstanding the numerous 
wars that have been carried on along its banks, and the mighty 
hosts that have crossed and recrossed its stream, it never yet 
had to be dried up to let them pass. 

2. It would be as necessary to dry up the River Tigris as 
the Euphrates; for that is nearly as large as the latter. Its 
source is only fifteen miles from that of the Euphrates, in the 
mountains of Armenia, and it runs nearly parallel with it, and 
but a short distance from it throughout its whole course; yet 
the prophecy says nothing of the Tigris. 

3. The literal drying up of the rivers takes place under the 
fourth vial, when power is given to the sun to scorch men with 
fire. Under this plague occur, beyond question, the scenes of 
drought and famine so graphically described by Joel, chapter 
1 : 14-20 ; and as one result of these, it is expressly stated that 
" the rivers of waters are dried up." The Euphrates can 



648 



THE REVELATION. 



hardly be an exception to this visitation of drought; hence not 
much would remain to be literally dried up under the sixth vial. 

4. These plagues, from the very nature of the case, must be 
manifestations of wrath and judgments upon men; but if the 
drying up of the literal Euphrates is all that is brought to view, 
this plague is not of such a nature, and turns out to be no 
serious affair, after all. 

These objections existing against considering it a literal 
river, it must be understood figuratively as symbolizing the 
power holding possession of the territory watered by that river, 
which is the Ottoman, or Turkish, empire. 

1. It is so used in other places in the Scriptures. (See Isa. 
8 :7; Kev. 9 : 14.) In this latter text, all must concede that 
the Euphrates symbolizes the Turkish power; and being the 
first and only other occurrence of the word in the Revelation, 
it may well be considered as governing its use in this book. 

2. The drying up of the river in this sense would be the 
consumption of the Turkish empire, accompanied with more or 
less destruction of its subjects. Thus we should have literal 
judgments upon men as the result of this plague, as in the case 
of all the others. 

But it may be objected to this, that while contending for 
the literality of the plagues, we nevertheless make one of them 
a symbol. We answer, No. A power is introduced, it is true, 
under the sixth vial, in its symbolic form, just as it is under 
the fifth, where we read of the seat of the beast, which is a 
well-known symbol; or as we read again in the first plague of 
the mark of the beast, his image, and its worship, which are 
also symbols. All that is here insisted upon, is the literality 
of the judgments that result from each vial, which are literal in 
this case as in all the others, though the organizations which 
suffer these judgments, may be brought to view in their sym- 
bolic form. 

Again: it may be asked how the way of the kings of the 
East will be prepared by the drying up, or consumption, of 
the Ottoman power ? The answer is obvious. For what is the 
way of these kings to be prepared ? Answer : To come up to 



CHAPTER 16, VERSES 12-16. 



649 



the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Where is the 
battle to be fought? — Near Jerusalem. (Joel and Zephaniah.) 
But Jerusalem is in the hands of the Turks; they hold posses- 
sion of the land of Palestine and the sacred sepulchers. This 
is the bone of contention; on these the nations have fixed their 
covetous and jealous eyes. But though Turkey now possesses 
them, and others want them, it is nevertheless thought necessary 
to the tranquillity of Europe that Turkey should be maintained 
in her position, in order to preserve what is called the ' ' balance 
of power. ' ' For this the Christian nations of Europe have co- 
operated to sustain the integrity of the sultan's throne, because 
they cannot agree as to the division of the spoils, when Turkey 
falls. By their sufferance alone that government now exists, and 
when they shall withdraw their support, and leave it to itself, as 
they will do under the sixth plague, that symbolic river will be 
wholly dried up ; Turkey will be no more, and the way will be all • 
open for the nations to make their last grand rally to the Holy 
Land. The kings of the East, the nationalities, powers, and 
kingdoms lying east of Palestine, will act a conspicuous part in 
the matter; for Joel says in reference to this scene, 44 Let the 
heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat. 5 ' 
The millions of Mohammedans of Persia, Afghanistan, Toor- 
kistan, and India will rush to the field of conquest in behalf of 
their religion. (See more about Turkey in Dan. 11 : 40-45.) 

Those who place five of the plagues in the past, and contend 
that we are now living under the sixth, urge, as one of their 
strongest arguments, the fact that the Turkish empire is now 
wasting away, and this takes place under the sixth vial. It is 
hardly necessary to reply, The event that takes place under the 
sixth vial is the entire and utter consumption of that power, 
not its preliminary state of decay, which is all that now 
appears. It is necessary that the empire should for a time 
grow weak and powerless, in order to its utter dissolution when 
the plague shall come. This preliminary condition is now 
seen, and the full end cannot be far in the future. 

Another event to be noticed under this plague is the issuing 
forth of the three unclean spirits to gather the nations to the 



650 



THE REVELATION. 



great battle. The agency now already abroad in the world, 
known as modern Spiritualism, is every way a fitting means 
to be employed in this work. But it may be asked how a work 
which is already going on, can be designated by that expression, 
when the spirits are not introduced into the prophecy until the 
pouring out of the sixth plague, which is still future. We 
answer that in this, as in many other movements, the agencies 
which Heaven designs to employ in the accomplishment of cer- 
tain ends, go through a process of preliminary training for the 
part which they are to act. Thus, before the spirits can have 
such absolute authority over the race as to gather them to 
battle against the King of kings and Lord of lords, they must 
first win their way among the nations of the earth, and cause 
their teaching to be received as of divine authority, and their 
word as law. This work they are now doing; and when they 
shall have once gained full influence over the nations in ques- 
tion, what fitter instruments could be employed to gather them 
to so rash and hopeless an enterprise ? 

To many it may seem incredible that the nations should be 
willing to engage in such an unequal warfare as to go up to 
battle against the Lord of Hosts; but it is one province of these 
spirits of devils to deceive, for they go forth working miracles, 
and thereby deceive the kings of the earth, that they should 
believe a lie. 

The sources from which these spirits issue, denote that they 
will work among three great religious divisions of mankind, 
represented by the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, 
or Paganism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. 

But what is the force of the caution thrown out in verse 
15 ? Probation must have closed, and Christ have left his 
mediatorial position, before the plagues begin to fall. And is 
there danger of falling after that ? It will be noticed that this 
warning is spoken in connection with the working of the spirits. 
The inference therefore is, that it is retroactive, applying from 
the time these spirits begin to work to the close of probation; 
that by an interchange of tenses common to the Greek lan- 
guage, the present tense is put for the past; as if it had read, 



CHAPTER 16, VERSES 12-16. 



651 



Blessed is he that hath watched and kept his garments, as the 
shame and nakedness of all who have not done this will at this 
time especially appear. 

" And he gathered them." Who are the ones here spoken 
of as "gathered," and what agency is to be used in gathering 
them ? If the word them refers to the kings of verse 14, it is 
certain that no good agency would be made use of to gather 
them; and if the spirits are referred to by the word he, why is 
it in the singular number ? The peculiarity of this construction 
has led some to read the passage thus: " And he [Christ] gath- 
ered them [the saints] into a place called in the Hebrew tongue 
Armageddon [the illustrious city, or New Jerusalem]." But 
this position is untenable. The following criticism, which 
appeared not long since in a religious magazine, seems to shed 
the true light upon this passage. The writer says : — 

" It seems to me that verse 16 is a continuation of verse 14, 
and that the antecedent of avTovq [them] is ' the kings ' men- 
tioned in verse 14. For this latter verse says, ' Which go forth 
unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather 
them^ etc., and in verse 16 it says, 'And he gathered them.'' 
Now, in the Greek, < a neuter plural regularly takes a verb in 
the singular.' (See Sophocles's Greek Grammar, Sec. 151, 1.) 
Might not, therefore, the subject of the verb awrjyayev [gathered] 
(verse 16) be rc wvEvfia-a [the spirits] of verse 14, and thus the 
' gathering ' mentioned in the two verses be one and the 
same f 

' ' And if this is to be a gathering of ' the kings of the earth 
and of the whole world, ' will it not be for the purpose men- 
tioned in the text; namely, 4 to gather them to the battle of 
that great day of God Almighty' ? " 

In accordance with this criticism, several translations use 
the plural instead of the singular pronoun. 

Mr. Wakefield, in his translation of the New Testament, 
renders this verse thus : "And the spirits gathered the kings 
together at a place called in Hebrew Armageddon." 

The Syriac Testament reads: "And they collected them 
together in a place called in Hebrew Armageddon." 



652 



THE REVELATION. 



Sawyer's translation renders it: "And they assembled them 
in the place called in Hebrew Armageddon." 

Mr. Wesley's version of the New Testament reads : " And 
they gathered them together to the place which is called in the 
Hebrew Armageddon." 

Whiting's translation gives it : " And they gathered them 
into a place called in Hebrew Armageddon." 

Professor Stuart of Andover College, a distinguished critic, 
though not a translator of the Scriptures, renders it: "And 
they gathered them together," etc. De Wette, a German 
translator of the Bible, gives it the same turn as Stuart and 
the others. 

Mr. Albert Barnes, whose notes on the New Testament 
are so extensively used, refers to the same grammatical law as 
suggested by the criticism above quoted, and says, 4 1 The au- 
thority of De Wette and Professor Stuart is sufficient to show 
that the construction which they adopt is authorized by the 
Greek, as indeed no one can doubt, and perhaps this construc- 
tion accords better with the context than any other construction 
proposed." Thus it will be seen that there are weighty reasons 
for reading the text, " They gathered them together," etc., 
instead of t£ he gathered." And by these authorities it is 
shown that the persons gathered are the minions of Satan, not 
saints; that it is the work of the spirits, not of Christ; and that 
the place of assemblage is not in the New Jerusalem at the 
marriage supper of the Lamb, but at Armageddon (or Mount 
Megiddo), " at the battle of that great day of God Almighty." 

The hills of Megiddo, overlooking the plain of Esdraelon, 
was the place where Barak and Deborah destroyed Sisera's 
army, and where Josiah was routed by the Egyptian king 
Pharaoh-Necho. 

Veese 17. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air : 
and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the 
throne, saying, It is done. 18. And there were voices, and thunders, and 
lightnings ; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men 
were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19. And the 
great city was divided into three. parts, and the cities of the nations fell : 
and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the 



CHAPTER 16. VERSE 17-21. 



653 



cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20. And every island fled 
away, and the mountains were not found. 21. And there fell upon men a 
great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent : and 
men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; for the plague 
thereof was exceeding great. 

TJie Seventh Plague. — Thus has Inspiration described the 
last judgment which is to be inflicted in the present condition 
of things upon those who are incorrigibly rebellious against 
God. Some of the plagues are local in their application; but 
this one is poured out into the air. The air envelops the whole 
earth; it follows that this plague will envelop equally the habit- 
able globe. It will be universal. The very air will be deadly. 

The gathering of the nations having taken place under the 
sixth vial, the battle remains to be fought under the seventh ; 
and here are brought to view the instrumentalities with which 
God will slay the wicked. At this time it may be said, " The 
Lord hath opened his armory, and hath brought forth the 
weapons of his indignation.' 7 

"There were voices.'' Above all will be heard the voice 
of God. ' ' The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his 
voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall 
shake; bat the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the 
strength of the children of Israel. " Joel 3 : 16. (See also Jer. 
25:30; Heb. 12: 26.) This will cause the great earthquake, 
such as was not since men were upon the earth. 

"And thunders and lightnings " — another allusion to the 
judgments of Egypt. (See Ex. 9 : 23.) The great city is 
divided into three parts; that is, the three grand divisions of 
the false and apostate religion of the world (the great city i , 
Paganism, Catholicism, and relapsed Protestantism, seem to be 
set apart each to receive its appropriate doom. The cities of 
the nations fall; universal desolation spreads over the earth; 
every island flees away, and the mountains are not found; and 
great Babylon comes in remembrance before God. Read her 
judgments, as more fully described in chapter IS. 

"And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven." 
This is the last instrumentality used in the infliction of punish- 



654 



THE REVELATION. 



ment upon the wicked, — the bitter dregs of the seventh vial. 
God has solemnly addressed the wicked, saying, "Judgment 
also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet; 
and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters 
shall overflow the hiding-place." Isa. 28 : 17. (See also Isa. 
30 : 30.) And he asks Job if he has seen the treasures of the 
hail, which he has 1 ' reserved against the time of trouble, against 
the day of battle and war." Job 38 : 22, 23. 

' ' Every stone about the weight of a talent. ' ' A talent, 
according to various authorities, as a weight, is about fifty- 
seven pounds avoirdupois. What could withstand the force of 
stones of such an enormous weight falling from heaven ? But 
mankind, at this time, will have no shelter. The cities have 
fallen in a mighty earthquake, the islands have fled away, and 
the mountains are not found. Again the wicked give vent to 
their woe in blasphemy; for the plague of the hail is "exceed- 
ing great." 

Some faint idea of the terrible effect of such a scene as is 
here predicted, may be inferred from the following sketch of a 
hailstorm on the Bosporus, by our countryman, the late Com- 
modore Porter, in his Letters from Constantinople and its 
Environs, Yol. I, p. 44. He says : — 

1 ' We had got perhaps a mile and a half on our way, when 
a cloud rising in the west, gave indications of approaching rain. 
In a few minutes we discovered something falling from the 
heavens with a heavy splash, and with a whitish appearance. 
I could not conceive what it was, but observing some gulls 
near, I supposed it to be them darting for fish, but soon 
after discovered that they were large balls of ice falling. 
Immediately we heard a sound like rumbling thunder, or ten 
thousand carriages rolling furiously over the pavement. The 
whole Bosporus was in a foam, as though heaven's artillery had 
been charged upon us and our frail machine. Our fate seemed 
inevitable; our umbrellas were raised to protect us, but the 
lumps of ice stripped them into ribbons. We fortunately had 
a bullock's hide in the boat, under which we crawled, and 
saved ourselves from further injury. One man of the three 



CHAPTER 16, VERSES 17-21. 



655 



oarsmen had his hand literally smashed; another was much 
injured in the shoulder; Mr. H. received a blow in the leg; my 
right hand was somewhat disabled, and all were more or less 
injured. 

" It was the most awful and terrific scene I ever witnessed, 
and God forbid that I should ever be exposed to another ! 
Balls of ice as large as my two fists fell into the boat, and 
some of them fell with such violence as certainly to have 
broken an arm or leg had they struck us in those parts. One 
of them struck the blade of an oar, and split it. The scene 
lasted perhaps five minutes; but it was five minutes of the 
most awful feelings I ever experienced. When it passed over, 
we found the surrounding hills covered with masses of ice, I 
cannot call it hail, the trees stripped of their leaves and limbs, 
and everything looking desolate. The scene was awful beyond 
all description. 

"I have witnessed repeated earthquakes; the lightning has 
played, as it were, about my head; the wind has roared, and the 
waves at one moment have thrown me to the sky, and the 
next have sunk me into a deep abyss. I have been in action, 
and have seen death and destruction around me in every shape 
of horror; but I never before had the feeling of awe which 
seized me on this occasion, and still haunts, and I fear forever 
will haunt me. My porter, the boldest of my family, who 
had ventured an instant from the door, had been knocked 
down by a hailstone, and had they not dragged him in by the 
heels, would have been battered to death. Two boatmen were 
killed in the upper part of the village, and I have heard of 
broken bones in abundance. Imagine to yourself the heavens 
suddenly frozen over, and as suddenly broken to pieces in 
irregular masses of from half a pound to a pound weight, 
and precipitated to the earth." 

Reader, if such were the desolating effects of a hailstorm 
of ice, which discharged stones the size of a man's fist, weighing 
at most a pound or so, who can depict the consequences of that 
coming storm in which ' < every stone ' ' shall be of the weight 
of a talent ? As surely as God's word is truth, he is thus soon 



656 



THE REVELATION. 



to punish a guilty world. May it be ours, according to the 
promise, to have " sure dwellings " and " quiet resting-places " 
in that terrific hour. Isa. 32 : 18, 19. 

< ' And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven 
from the throne, saying, It is done ! " Thus all is finished. 
The cup of human guilt has been filled up. The last soul has 
availed itself of the plan of salvation. The books are closed. 
The number of the saved is completed. The final period is 
placed to this world's history. The vials of God's wrath are 
poured out upon a corrupt generation. The wicked have 
drunk them to the dregs, and sunk into the realm of death for 
a thousand years. Reader, where do you wish to be found 
after that great decision ? 

But what is the condition of the saints while the " over- 
flowing scourge " is passing over ? They are the special sub- 
jects of God's protection, without whose notice not a sparrow 
falls to the ground. Many are the promises which come 
crowding in to afford them comfort, summarily contained in 
the beautiful and expressive language of the 91st psalm, which 
alone we have space to quote : — 

" I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; 
my God, in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from 
the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He 
shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt 
thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou 
shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow 
that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in dark- 
ness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon day. A 
thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right 
hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes 
shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because 
thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most 
High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither 
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." Ps. 91:2-10. 




Verse 1. And there came one of the seven angels which had the 
seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will 
show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many 
waters : 2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornica- 
tion, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the 
wine of her fornication. 3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the 
wilderness : and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of 
names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4. And the 
woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold 
and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of 
abominations and filthiness of her fornication : 5. And upon her fore- 
head was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE 
MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 

<\j N verse 19 of the preceding chapter, we were informed that 
||* " great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give 
^J, unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. " 
The prophet now takes up more particularly the subject of this 
great Babylon; and in order to give a full presentation of it, goes 
back and gives some of the facts of her past history. That this 
apostate woman, as presented in this chapter, is a symbol of 
the Roman Catholic Church, is generally believed by Protes- 
tants. Between this church and the kings of the earth there 
has been illicit connection, and with the wine of her fornica- 
tion, or her false doctrines, the inhabitants of the earth have 
been made drunk. 

Church and' State. — This prophecy is more definite than 
others applicable to the Roman power, in that it distinguishes 
42 [ 657 ] 



658 



THE REVELATION. 



between church and state. We here have the woman, the 
church, seated upon a scarlet- colored beast, the civil power, by 
which she is upheld, and which she controls and guides to her 
own ends, as a rider controls the animal upon which he is 
seated. 

The vesture and decorations of this woman, as brought to 
view in verse 4, are in striking harmony with the application 
made of this symbol; for purple and scarlet are the chief 
colors in the robes of popes and cardinals; and among the 
myriads of precious stones which adorn her service, according 
to an eye-witness, silver is scarcely known, and gold itself 
looks but poorly. And from the golden cup in her hand, — 
symbol of purity of doctrine and profession, which should have 
contained only that which is unadulterated and pure, or, ex- 
plaining the figure, only that which is in full accordance with 
truth, — there came forth only abominations, and wine of her 
fornication, fit symbol of her abominable doctrines, and still 
more abominable practices. 

This woman is explicitly called Babylon. Is Rome, then, 
Babylon, to the exclusion of all other religious bodies ? — No, 
from the fact that she is called the mother of harlots, as already 
noticed, which shows that there are other independent religious 
organizations that constitute the apostate daughters, and belong 
to the same great family. 

Verse 6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, 
and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus : and when I saw her, I won- 
dered with great admiration. 7. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore 
didst thou marvel ? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the 
beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 

A Cause of Wonder. — Why should John wonder with 
great astonishment when he saw the woman drunken with the 
blood of saints ? Was persecution of the people of God any 
strange thing in his day ? Had he not seen Rome launch its 
most fiery anathemas against the church, being himself in ban- 
ishment under its cruel power at the time he wrote ? Why, 
then, should he be astonished, as he looked forward, and saw 
Rome still persecuting the saints ? The secret of his wondei 



CHAPTER 17, VERSES 1-11. 



659 



was just this : all the persecution he had witnessed had been 
from pagan Rome, the open enemy of Christ. It was not 
strange that pagans should persecute Christ's followers; but 
when he looked forward, and saw a church professedly Chris- 
tian persecuting the followers of the Lamb, and drunken with 
their blood, he could but wonder with great amazement. 

Verse 8. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend 
out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on 
the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life 
from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, 
and is not, and yet is. 9. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. 
The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 

10. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other 
is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 

11. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the 
seven, and goeth into perdition. 

Borne in Three Phases. — The beast of which the angel 
here speaks is evidently the scarlet beast. A wild beast, like 
the one thus introduced, is the symbol of an oppressive and 
persecuting power; and while the Roman power as a nation 
had a long, uninterrupted existence, it passed through certain 
phases during which this symbol would be inapplicable to it, 
and during which time, consequently, the beast, in such proph- 
ecies as the present, might be said not to be, or not to exist. 
Thus Rome in its pagan form was a persecuting power in its 
relation to the people of God, during which time it constituted 
the beast that was; but the empire was nominally converted to 
Christianity; there was a transition from paganism to another 
phase of religion falsely called Christian; and during a brief 
period, while this transition was going on, it lost its ferocious 
and persecuting character, and then it could be said of the 
beast that it was not. Time passed on, and it degenerated 
into popery, and again assumed its bloodthirsty and oppressive 
character, and then it constituted the beast that " yet is," or in 
John's day was to be. 

The Seven Heads. — The seven heads are explained to be, 
first, seven mountains, and then seven kings, or forms of gov- 
ernment; for the expression in verse 1Q, " And there are seven 



660 



THE REVELATION. 



kings," should read, and these are seven kings. "Five are 
fallen," says the angel, or passed away; " one is;" the sixth 
was then reigning; another was to come, and continue for a 
short space; and when the beast reappeared in its bloody and 
persecuting character, it was to be under the eighth form 
of government, which was to continue till the beast went into 
perdition. The seven forms of government that have existed 
in the Roman empire are usually enumerated as follows : (1) 
kingly; (2) consular; (3) decern virate ; (4) dictatorial; (5) tri- 
umvirate; (6) imperial; and (7) papal. Kings, consuls, decem- 
virs, dictators, and triumvirs had passed away in John's day. 
He was living under the imperial form. Two more were to 
arise after his time. One was only to continue a short space, 
and hence is not usually reckoned among the heads; while the 
last, which is usually denominated the seventh, is in reality the 
eighth. The head which was to succeed the imperial, and con- 
tinue a short space, could not be the papal ; for that has con- 
tinued longer than all the rest put together. We understand, 
therefore, that the papal head is the eighth, and that a head of 
short continuance intervened between the imperial and papal. 
In fulfilment of this, we read that after the imperial form had 
been abolished, there was a ruler who for about the space of 
sixty years governed Kome under the title of the "Exarch of 
Ravenna." Thus we have the connecting link between the im- 
perial and papal heads. The third phase of the beast that was, 
and is not, and yet is, is the Roman power under the rule of 
the papacy; and in this form it ascends out of the bottomless 
pit, or bases its power on pretensions which have no foundation 
but a mixture of Christian errors and pagan superstitions. 

Verse 12. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which 
have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour 
with the beast. 13. These have one mind, and shall give their power 
and strength unto the beast. 14. These shall make war with the Lamb, 
and the Lamb shall overcome them : for he is Lord of lords, and King of 
kings ; and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 

The Ten Horns. — On this subject, see remarks on Dan. 
7 : 8, where they are shown to represent the ten kingdoms 



CHAPTER 17, VERSES 12-18. 



661 



that arose out of the Roman empire. They receive power one 
hour .(Gr. apa, hora, an indefinite space of time) with the beast; 
that is, they reign a length of time contemporaneously with the 
beast, during which time they give to it their power and 
strength. 

Croly, in his work on the Apocalypse, offers this comment 
on verse 12 : u The prediction defines the epoch of the papacy 
by the formation of the ten kingdoms of the Western empire. 
'They shall receive power one hour with the beast.' The 
translation should be, ' in the same era ' (jiiav tipav). The ten 
kingdoms shall be contemporaneous, in contradistinction to the 
1 seven heads,' which were successive." 

This language must refer to the past, when the kingdoms 
of Europe were unanimous in giving their support to the papacy, 
and upholding it in all its pretensions. It cannot apply to the 
future; for after the commencement of the time of the end, they 
were to take away its dominion to consume and to destroy it unto 
the end (Dan. 7 : 26); and the treatment which these kingdoms 
are finally to bestow upon the papacy, is expressed in verse 16, 
where it is said that they shall hate the harlot, make her deso- 
late and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. A part 
of this work the nations of Europe have been doing for years. 
The completion of it, burning her with fire, will be accomplished 
when Rev. 18 : 8 is fulfilled. 

These make war with the Lamb. Verse 14. Here we are 
carried into the future, to the time of the great and final battle; 
for at this time the Lamb has assumed the title of King of 
kings and Lord of lords, a title which he does not assume till 
his second coming. Chapter 19 : 11-16. 

Verse 15. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, 
where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and 
tongues. 16. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, 
these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and 
shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17. For God hath put in 
their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto 
the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18. And the woman 
which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of 
the earth. 



662 



THE REVELATION. 



An Important Symbol Defined. — In verse 15 we have 
a plain definition of the Scripture symbol of waters; they de- 
note peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. The angel told 
John, while calling his attention to this subject, that he would 
show him the judgment of this great harlot. In verse 16 that 
judgment is specified. This chapter has," naturally, more 
especial reference to the old mother, or Catholic Babylon. 
The next chapter, if we mistake not, deals with the charac- 
ter and destiny of another great branch of Babylon, the harlot 
daughters. 




THE MESSAGE OF REV. 18 : i. 




Verse 1. And after these things I saw another angel come down 
from heaven, having great power ; and the earth was lightened with his 
glory. 2. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon 
the great is fallen, is. fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and 
the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful 
bird. 3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her for- 
nication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, 
and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of 
her delicacies. 

OME movement of mighty power is symbolized in these 
verses. ( See under verse 4.) The consideration of a 
few facts will guide us unmistakably to the application. 
In chapter 14 we had a message announcing the fall of Baby- 
lon. Babylon is a term which embraces not only the Roman 
Catholic Church, but religious bodies which have sprung from 
her, bringing many of ber errors and traditions along with 
them. 

A Moral Fall. — The fall of Babylon here spoken of can- 
not be literal destruction; for there are events to take place in 
Babylon after her fall which utterly forbid this idea; as, for 
instance, the people of God are there after her fall, and are 
called out in order that they may not receive of her plagues; 
and in these plagues is embraced her literal destruction. The 
fall is therefore a moral one; for the result of it is that Baby- 
lon becomes the habitation of devils, and the hold of every 
foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 

[663] 



664 



THE REVELATION. 



These are terrible descriptions of apostasy, showing that, as a 
consequence of her fall, she piles up an accumulation of sins 
even to the heavens, and becomes subject to the judgments of 
God, which can no longer be delayed. 

And since the fall here introduced is a moral one, it must 
apply to some branch of Babylon besides, or outside of, the 
pagan or papal divisions; for from the beginning of their his- 
tory, paganism has been a false religion, and the papacy an 
apostate one. And further, as this fall is said to occur but a 
short period before Babylon's final destruction, certainly this 
side of the rise and predicted triumph of the papal church, this 
testimony cannot apply to any religious organizations but such 
as have sprung from that church. These started out on reform. 
They ran well for a season, and had the approbation of God; 
but fencing themselves about with creeds, they have failed to 
keep pace with the advancing light of prophetic truth, and 
hence have been left in a position where they will finally 
develop a character as evil and odious in the sight of God as 
that of the church from which they first withdrew as dissenters, 
or reformers. As the point before us is to many a very sensi- 
tive one, we will let members of these various denominations 
here speak for themselves. 

The Tennessee Baptist says : ' ' This woman [popery] is 
called the mother of harlots and abominations. Who are the 
daughters ? The Lutheran, the Presbyterian, and the Episco- 
palian churches are all branches of the [Roman] Catholic. Are 
not these denominated ' harlots and abominations ' in the above 
passage ? — I so decide. I could not, with the stake before me, 
decide otherwise. Presbyterians and Episcopalians compose a 
part of Babylon. * They hold the distinctive principles of 
papacy in common with papists." 

Alexander Campbell says: "The worshiping establish- 
ments now in operation throughout Christendom, incased and 
cemented by their respective voluminous confessions of faith, 
and their ecclesiastical constitutions, are not churches of Jesus 
Christ, but the legitimate daughters of that mother of harlots, 
the Church of Rome." 



CHAPTER 18, VERSES 1-3 . 



665 



Again he says : "A reformation of popery was attempted 
in Europe full three centuries ago. It ended in a Protestant 
hierarchy, and swarms of dissenters. Protestantism has been 
reformed into Presbyterianism, that into 'Congregationalism, 
and that into Baptistism, etc., etc. Methodism has attempted 
to reform all, but has reformed itself into many forms of Wes- 
leyanism. All of them retain in their bosom — in their eccle- 
siastical organizations, worship, doctrines, and observances — 
various relics of popery. They are at best a reformation of 
popery, and only reformations in part. .The doctrines and 
traditions of men yet impair the power and progress of the 
gospel in their hands." — On Baptism p. 15. 

Mr. O. Scott (Wesley an Methodist) says: "The church is 
as deeply infected with a desire for worldly gain as the world. 
• ' ' The churches are making a god of this world. 

' ' Most of the denominations of the present day might be 
called churches of the world with more propriety than churches 
of Christ. 

" The churches are so far gone from primitive Christianity 
that they need a fresh regeneration, a new kind of religion." 

Says the Golden Mule: "The Protestants are out-doing 
the popes in splendid, extravagant folly in church-building. 
Thousands on thousands are expended in gay and costly orna- 
ments to gratify pride and a wicked ambition, that might and 
should go to redeem the perishing millions ! Does the evil, 
the folly, and the madness of these proud, formal, fashionable 
worshipers stop here % 

"These splendid monuments of popish pride, upon which 
millions are squandered in our cities, virtually exclude the poor, 
for whom Christ died, and for whom he came especially to 
preach. ' ' 

The report of the Michigan Yearly Conference, published 
in the True Wesley an of Nov. 15, 1851, says: "The world, 
commercial, political, and ecclesiastical, are alike, and are 
together going in the broad way that leads to death. Politics, 
commerce, and nominal religion, all connive at sin, reciprocally 
aid each other, and unite to crush the poor. Falsehood is 



666 



THE REVELATION. 



unblusKingly uttered in the forum and in the pulpit; and sins 
that would shock the moral sensibilities of the heathen go unre- 
voked in all the great denominations of our land. These 
churches are like the Jewish church when the Saviour exclaimed, 
'Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.' " Is their 
condition any better now than it was then ? 

Robert Atkins, in a sermon preached in London, says : 
' ' The truly righteous are diminished from the earth, and no 
man layeth it to heart. The professors of religion of the pres- 
ent day, in every church, are lovers of the world, conformers 
to the world, lovers of creature-comfort, and aspirers after 
respectability. They are called to suffer with Christ, but they 
shrink even from reproach. 

"Apostasy, apostasy, apostasy, is engraven on the very 
front of every church; and did they know it, and did they 
feel it, there might be hope, but alas! they cry, 'We are 
rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing. 5 ' ' 

G. F. Pentecost, the noted evangelist, said in the Independ- 
ent^ in February, 1883, that the conversion of sinners was 
becoming ' ' a lost art. ' ' 

Abundance of similar testimony might be produced from 
persons in high standing in these various denominations, writ- 
ten, not for the purpose of being captious and finding fault, 
but from a vivid sense of the fearful condition to which these 
churches have fallen. The term Bahylon, as applied to them, 
is not a term of reproach, but is simply expressive of the con- 
fusion and diversity of sentiment that exists among them. 
Babylon need not have fallen, but might have been healed 
( Jer. 51 : 9 ) by the reception of the truth; but she rejected it, 
and confusion and dissensions still reign within her borders, 
and worldliness and pride are fast choking oat every plant of 
heavenly growth. 

Chronology of this Movement. — At what time do these 
verses have their application ? When may this movement be 
looked for ? If the position here taken is correct, that these 
churches, this branch of Babylon, experienced a moral fall 
by the rejection of the first message of chapter 14, the 



CHAPTER 18, VERSES 1-3. 



607 



announcement in the chapter under consideration could not 
have gone forth previous to that time. It is, then, either syn- 
chronous with the message of the fall of Babylon, in chapter 14., 
or it is given at a later period than that. But it cannot be 
synonymous with that; for that merely announces the fall of 
Babylon, while this adds several particulars which at that 
time were neither fulfilled nor in process of fulfilment. As 
we are therefore to look this side of 1844, where the previous 
message went forth, for the announcemement brought to view 
in this chapter, we inquire, Has any such message been given 
from that time to the present ? The answer must still be in 
the negative; hence this message is yet future. But we are 
now having the third angel's message, which is the last to be 
given before the coming of the Son of man. We are therefore 
held to the conclusion that the first two verses of this chapter 
constitute a feature of the third message which is to appear 
when this message shall be proclaimed with power, and the 
whole earth be lightened with its glory. 

The work brought to view in verse 2 is in process of 
accomplishment, and will soon be completed, by the work of 
Spiritualism. What are called in Kev. 16 : 14 " spirits of devils 
working miracles ' ' are secretly but rapidly working their way 
into the religious denominations above referred to; for their 
creeds have been formulated under the influence of the wine 
(errors) of Babylon, one of which is that the spirits of our dead 
friends, conscious, intelligent, and active, are all about us; and 
this renders such denominations unable to resist the approach of 
evil spirits who come to them under the names and impersona- 
tions of their dead friends. 

A significant feature in the work of Spiritualism, just now, 
is the religious garb it is assuming. Keeping in the back- 
ground its grosser principles, which it has heretofore carried so 
largely in the front, it now assumes to appear as respectably 
religious in some quarters as any other denomination in the 
land. It talks of sin, repentance, the atonement, salvation 
through Christ, etc. , almost as orthodoxly as the most approved 
standards. Under the guise of this profession, what is to hin- 



668 



THE REVELATION. 



der it from intrenching itself in almost every denomination in 
Christendom ? The basis of Spiritualism is a fundamental 
dogma in the creeds of almost all the churches. Its secret 
principles are, alas ! too commonly cherished, and its dark 
practices too commonly followed, to put them at variance on 
that ground, so long as they seek a common concealment. 
What, then, can save Christendom from its seductive influence ? 
Herein is seen another sad result of rejecting the truths offered 
to the world by the messages of chapter 14. Had the churches 
received these messages, they would have been shielded against 
this delusion; for among the great truths developed by the 
religious movement there brought to view, is the important 
doctrine that the soul of man is not naturally immortal; that 
eternal life is a gift suspended on conditions, and to be acquired 
through Christ alone; that the dead are unconscious; and that 
the rewards and punishments of the future world lie beyond 
the resurrection and the day of Judgment. This strikes a 
death-blow to the first and vital claim of Spiritualism. What 
foothold can that doctrine secure in any mind fortified by this 
truth ? The spirit comes, and claims to be the disembodied soul, 
or spirit, of a dead man. It is met with the fact that that is 
not the kind of soul, or spirit, which man possesses; that the 
"dead know not anything; " that this, its first pretension, is a 
lie, and that the credentials it offers, show it to belong to the 
synagogue of Satan. Thus it is at once rejected, and the evil 
it would do is effectually prevented. But the great mass of 
religionists stand opposed to the truth which would thus shield 
them, and thereby expose themselves to this last manifestation 
of satanic cunning. 

And while Spiritualism is thus working, startling changes 
are manifesting themselves in high places in some of the denom- 
inations. The infidelity of the present age, under the seductive 
names of "science," "the higher criticism," "evolution," 
etc. , is making not a few notable converts. As typical cases, we 
may mention such men as the late Henry Ward Beecher, and 
such papers as The Outlook, formerly the Christian Union. 
Mr. Beecher was considered a leader of thought in the religious 



CHAPTER 18, VERSES 1-3. 



669 



world, and his fame and influence were not confined to one 
hemisphere. He became very outspoken in his denial of 
doctrines which have been considered by all believers in the 
Bible as among the fundamental truths of revelation. As an 
illustration, we quote the following from the National Baptist 
of Sept. 6, 1883. It is from a reply by Mr. Beecher to J. S. 
Kennard, D. D., who had criticised some of Mr. B.'s views 
and utterances. He says : — 

"I am a cordial Christian evolutionist. I do not agree, by 
any means, with all of Spencer — his agnosticism — nor all of 
Huxley, Tyndall, and their school. They are agnostic; I am 
not, emphatically. But I am an evolutionist; and that strikes 
at the root of all medieval and orthodox modern theology, — 
the fall of man in Adam, and the inheritance by his posterity 
of his guilt, and, by consequence, any such view of atonement 
as has been constructed to meet this fabulous disaster. Men 
have not fallen as a race; men have come up. ~No great disas- 
ter met the race at the start. The creative decree of God was 
fulfilled, and any theory of atonement must be one which shall 
meet the fact that man was created at the lowest point, and, as 
I believe, is, as to his physical being, evolved from the animal 
race below him; but as to his moral and spiritual nature, is a 
son of God, a new element having come in, in the great move- 
ment of evolution at the point of man's appearance." 

When the great facts which alone account for the existence 
of sin in our world, and for all the anomalies of the present 
state, are denominated 6 ' a fabulous disaster; ' ' when it is avowed 
that man has not fallen, that the race did not meet the disaster 
of the introduction of sin by disobedience in the beginning, and 
that no atonement to meet this state of things is necessary, — 
what becomes of all those portions of the Scriptures in which 
these facts are recorded, and by which they are recognized? 
They must be relegated to the realm of fable. And when 
professed ministers of the gospel, to whom the people look for 
instruction, and on whose views they depend in these matters, 
lead out with such teaching, what reverence for the word of 
God can be expected from the masses ? ' ' Like priest, like 



670 



THE REVELATION. 



people. ' ' Such ministers are doing more for the cause of infi- 
delity than all the Voltaires and Paines of a past age have 
done, or all the Ingersolls of the present age are doing. Worse 
than wolves without the fold, they are wolves within it, and all 
the more dangerous because arrayed in sheep's clothing. 

Others in high positions, and influential journals in the 
Christian world, speak in a similar strain. It has come to be 
a very easy thing to accuse the record of inaccuracy, and charge 
the sacred writers with a failure to comprehend their subjects. 
Much of the body of modern dogmatic theology may be classi- 
fied under two heads, — funguses and fossils; and whatever 
declarations of Scripture do not agree with these conceptions, 
are set down as incorrect. Paul, they say, held erroneous 
ideas on a number of questions, more especially in reference to 
the second coming of Christ; and one learned doctor of divinity, 
as quoted without dissent in a leading religious journal, has 
asserted that even Christ himself misapprehended the question 
he was discussing, according to the record of Matthew 24 ! 
From the standpoint of such a lamentable outlook, and under 
the leadership of such men, how long before Babylon will 
become full of spirits that are foul, and birds that are hateful 
and unclean ? What progress has already been made in this 
direction ! How would the godly fathers and mothers of the 
generation that lived just before the first message was given, 
could they rise from their graves, and comprehend the pres- 
ent condition of the religious world, hearing its teaching and 
beholding its practices, stand aghast at the fearful contrast 
between their time and ours, and deplore the sad degeneracy ! 
And Heaven is not to let all this pass in silence; for a mighty 
proclamation is to be made, calling the attention of all the 
world to the fearful counts in the indictment against these 
unfaithful religious bodies, that the justice of the judgments 
that follow may plainly appear. 

Terse 3 shows the wide extent of the influence of Babylon, 
and the evil that has resulted and will result from her course, 
and hence the justness of her punishment. The merchants of 
the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her deli- 



CHAPTER 18, VERSES 4-8. 



671 



cacies. Who take the lead in all the extravagances of the age? 
Who load their tables with the • richest and choicest viands ? 
Who are foremost in extravagance in dress, and all costly 
attire ? Who are the very personification of pride and arro- 
gance \ — Are they not church-members ? Where shall we 
look for the very highest exhibition of the luxury, vain show, 
and pride of life, resulting from the vanity and sin of the race ? 
— Is it not to a modern church assembly on a pleasant Sunday ? 

But there is a redeeming feature in this picture. Degener- 
ate as Babylon has become as a body, there are exceptions 
to the general rule; for God has still a people there, and she 
must be entitled to some regard on their account until they are 
called from her communion. Nor will it be necessary to wait 
long for this call. Soon Babylon will become so thoroughly 
leavened with the influence of these evil agents that her con- 
dition will be fully manifest to all the honest in heart, and the 
way be all prepared for the work which the apostle now in- 
troduces. 

Verse 4. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out 
of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye 
receive not of her plagues. 5. For her sins have reached unto heaven, 
and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6. Reward her even as she 
rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works ; in the 
cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. 7. How much she hath 
glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give 
her ; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall 
see no sorrow. 8. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, 
and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for 
strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 

The voice coming from heaven denotes that it will be a 
message of power attended with heavenly glory. How marked 
becomes the interposition of Heaven, and how the agents for 
the accomplishment of God's work multiply, as the great crisis 
approaches ! This voice from heaven is called " another " 
voice, showing that a new agency is here introduced. We now 
have five celestial messengers expressly mentioned as engaged 
in this last religious reformation. These are the first, second, 
and third angels of chapter ltL; fourth, the angel of verse one 
of this chapter; and fifth, the agency indicated by the " voice " 



672 



THE REVELATION. 



of verse 4, now before us. Three of these are already in 
operation. The second angei has joined the first, and the third 
has joined them. The first and second have not ceased. All 
three now have the field. The angel of verse 1, is entering 
upon his mission, as the conditions which call for his work are 
supplied; and the divine call from heaven must take place in 
connection with his work. 

Proof has already beren offered to show that the message of 
verses 1 and 2 of this chapter is to be given in connection with 
the now current third message, and will mark a new era in this 
work. An idea of its extent and power may be gathered from 
the description of the angel there given. The first message is 
said to go with a "loud voice; " the same is also said of the 
third message; but this angel, instead of simply flying "in the 
midst of heaven," like the others, is said to "come down from 
heaven." He comes, as it were, nearer to the earth, with a 
message more pointed and direct; and he has "great power," 
and the earth is ' 4 lightened with his glory. ' ' No such descrip- 
tion of a message from heaven to man is elsewhere to be found 
in all the Bible. This is the last; and as is meet, it comes with 
surpassing glory and unwonted power. It is an awful hour 
when a world's destiny is to be decided, — a most solemn crisis 
when an entire contemporaneous generation of the human 
family is to pass the bounds of probation, as the last note of 
mercy is sounded in their ears. In such a time, the world 
must not be left without warning. So amply must the great 
fact be heralded, that none can plead a reasonable ignorance 
of the impending doom. Every excuse must be taken away. 
The justice and long-suffering and forbearance of God in delay- 
ing threatened vengeance till all have had an opportunity to 
receive a knowledge of his will, and space to repent, must be 
vindicated. An angel is sent forth, panoplied with Heaven's 
power. The light that encircles the throne enshrouds him. 
He comes to the earth. None but the spiritually dead — 
yea, "twice dead, and plucked up by the roots" — will fail 
to realize his presence. Light flashes everywhere. The dark 
places are lighted up. And while his presence dispels the 



CHAPTER 18, VERSES 4-8. 



673 



shadows, his voice in thunder tones utters a warning. He 
cries ' ' mightily. ' ' He speaks in no feeble tones, and with no 
uncertain sound. It is no parlor announcement, but a ery, a 
mighty cry, a cry with a strong voice. The fatal defects in the 
profession of a worldly church are again pointed out. Their 
errors are once more, and for the last time, exposed. The 
inadequacy of the present standard of godliness to meet the 
final crisis is emphasized beyond all mistaking. The inevitable 
connection between their cherished errors and irretrievable and 
everlasting destruction, is heralded till the earth resounds with 
the cry. Meanwhile, great Babylon's sins mount up to the 
heavens, and the remembrance of her iniquities comes up before 
God. The storm of vengeance gathers. The great tidal wave 
of supernal wrath rolls onward. The feathery foam plays along 
its crest, indicating that but an instant remains ere it will burst 
upon the great city of confusion, and proud Babylon will go 
down as a millstone sinks in the depths of the sea. Suddenly 
another voice rings out from heaven, < ' Come out of her, my 
people ! " The humble, sincere, devoted children of God, of 
whom there are some still left, and who sigh and cry over the 
abominations done in the land, heed the voice, wash their hands 
of her sins, separate from her communion, escape, and are 
saved, while Babylon becomes the victim of the just judgments 
of God. There are stirring times before the church. Let us 
be ready for the crisis. 

The fact that God's people are called out so as not to be 
partakers of her sins, shows that it is not till a certain time that 
people become guilty by being connected with Babylon; and 
this explains how it can be said of the 144,000 (Rev. 14 :4), 
many of whom are the very ones here called out, that they were 
not defiled with women. 

Verses 6 and 7 are a prophetic declaration that she will be 
rewarded, or punished, according to her works. Bear in mind 
that this testimony applies to that portion of Babylon which is 
subject to a moral fall. As already pointed out, it must apply 
especially to the u daughters, " the denominations who persist 
in clinging to the personal traits of the li mother," and keeping 

43 



674 



THE REVELATION. 



up the family resemblance. These, as pointed out on a pre- 
vious page, are to attempt a sweeping persecution against the 
truth and the people of God. By these the "image of the 
beast" is to be formed. These are to have what will be to 
them a new experience, — the use of the civil arm to enforce 
their dogmas. And it is doubtless this first intoxication of 
power that leads this branch of Babylon to cherish in her heart 
the boast, "I sit a queen, and am no widow;" that is, I am 
no longer xw a , ' £ one bereaved, ' ' or destitute of power, as I 
have been; but now I rule like a queen; I shall see no sorrow; 
God is in the Constitution; the church is enthroned, and shall 
henceforth bear sway. The expression, " Reward her even as 
she rewarded you, ' ' seems to show that the time for this mes- 
sage to be given, and for the saints to be called out, will be 
when she begins to raise against them the arm of oppression. 
As she fills up the cup of persecution t© the saints, so the angel 
of the Lord will persecute her (Ps. 35 : 6); and judgments from 
on high will bring upon her, in a twofold degree, the evil which 
she thought to bring upon the humble servants of the Lord. 

On page 137 of Spiritual Gifts, as found in Early Writings, 
by Mrs. E. G. White, we find testimony showing that the first 
part of Revelation 18 has special reference to the religious 
oppression to be developed in the United States by professed 
Christians. Thus : "It will be more tolerable for the heathen 
and for papists in the day of the execution of God's judgment 
than for such men. . . . The names of the oppressors are 
written in blood, crossed with stripes, and flooded with agoniz- 
ing, burning tears of suffering, God's anger will not cease 
until he has caused this land of light to drink the dregs of the 
cup of his fury, until he has rewarded unto Babylon double. 
' Reward her even as she rewarded you, double unto her double 
according to her works; in the cup which she hath filled, fill to 
her double.' " 

The day in which her plagues come, mentioned in verse 8, 
must be a prophetic day, or at least cannot be a literal day; 
for it would be impossible for famine to come in that length of 
time. The plagues of Babylon are without doubt the seven 



CHAPTER 18, VERSES 9-11. 



675 



last plagues, which have already been examined; and the plain 
inference from the language of this verse, in connection with 
Isa. 34: : 8, is that a year will be occupied in that terrible 
visitation. 

Verse 9. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornica- 
tion and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, 
when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 10. Standing afar off for 
the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that 
mighty city ! for in one hour is thy judgment come. 11. And the mer- 
chants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her ; for no man buyeth 
^their merchandise any more. 

A Fitting Retribution. — The infliction of the very first 
plague must result in a complete suspension of traffic in those 
articles of luxury for which Babylon is noted. And when the 
merchants of these things, who are to a great extent citizens of 
this symbolic city, and who have been made rich by their 
traffic in these things, suddenly find themselves and their 
neighbors smitten with putrefying sores, their traffic suspended, 
and vast stores of merchandise on hand, but none to buy them, 
they lift up their voices in lamentation for the fate of this great 
city; for if there is anything which will draw from the men of 
this generation a sincere cry of distress, it is that which touches 
then treasures. And there is a fitness in this retribution. 
They who but a short time before had issued a decree that the 
saints of God should neither buy nor sell, now find themselves 
put under the same restriction by a far more effectual process. 

The question may arise how persons involved in the same 
calamity can stand afar off and lament, etc. ; but it must be 
remembered that this desolation is brought to view under a 
figure, and the figure is that of a city visited with destruction. 
Should calamity come upon a literal city, it would be natural 
for its inhabitants to flee from that city if they had oppor- 
tunity, and standing afar off, lament its fall; and just m. pro- 
portion to their terror and amazement at the evil impending, 
would be the distance at which they would stand £roin their 
devoted city. Kow the figure the apostle uses would not be 
complete without a feature of this kind; and so he uses it, not 



676 



THE REVELATION. 



to imply that people would literally flee from the symbolic city r 
which would be impossible, but to denote their terror and 
amazement at the descending judgments. 

Verse 12. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, 
and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all 
thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of 
most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13. And cin- 
namon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, 
and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, 
and slaves, and souls of men. 

Babylon 's Merchandise. — In these verses we have an enu- 
meration of great Babylon's merchandise, which includes every- 
thing pertaining to luxurious living, pomp, and worldly display. 
All kinds of mercantile traffic are brought to view. The dec- 
laration concerning ''slaves and souls of men "may pertain 
more particularly to the spiritual domain, and have reference 
to slavery of conscience by the creeds of these bodies, which 
in some cases is more oppressive than physical bondage. 

Verse 14. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from 
thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, 
and thou shalt find them no more at all. 

Gluttony Rebuked. — The fruits here mentioned are, accord- 
ing to the original, "autumnal fruits;" and in this we find a 
prophecy that the "delicacies of the season," upon which the 
luxurious gormand so sets his pampered appetite, will be sud- 
denly cut off. This, of course, is the work of the famine, 
which is the result of the fourth vial. Chapter 16:8. And 
we may be even now having a premonition of this destruction 
in the phylloxera of the vineyards, the 1 ' yellows ' ' of the peach 
orchards, and other recent enemies to vegetation. 

In this connection we can hardly forbear glancing at the 
general aspect of the times in respect to the remarkable phys- 
ical phenomena everywhere manifesting themselves, as they 
seem so plainly to indicate that all the courses of nature are 
disturbed* and that the earth itself is waxing old in anticipa- 
tion of the time when it shall vanish away. Within a few 
years past, how many unnatural visitations of storm and fire 



CHAPTER 1-8, VERSES 12-14. 



677 



and flood have wrought ruin in different localities, and awak- 
ened forebodings of fear in the hearts of men in general. 
Witness the Chicago fire, the Wisconsin fires, the Michigan 
fires, in connection with all which there were manifested 
strange and unaccountable phenomena; the floods of the Ohio, 
the Mississippi, and other Western rivers; the devastating 
floods of Europe; the famines of China and India; the cyclones 
and tidal waves, sweeping away the proudest works of man, 
and hurling thousands of human beings into untimely graves. 

But we have no need to go so far into the past. Look at 
the occurrences of more recent times. The year 1882 was 
considered a phenomenal and fatal year; but the disasters of 
the first seven months of 1883 overbalanced those of the whole 
year preceding. In January, one hundred and ten persons 
perished by floods and fires; in February, one hundred and 
twenty-seven by floods; in March, eleven by fire; in April, 
three hundred and four by tornadoes; in May, one hundred 
and thirty-two by the Brooklyn-bridge panic and by tornadoes; 
in June, fifty-eight by tornadoes and floods; in July, one hun- 
dred and one by disasters. The foregoing casualties occurred 
in this country. In the Old World, the fatalities were still 
more appalling. There, during the same time, two thousand 
two hundred and sixty-three persons perished by floods, fires, 
and other disasters. To mention some, in India and Egypt, 
nearly twenty-two thousand fell victims to the cholera. Then 
comes the earthquake at Ischia, Italy, July 28, with nine thou- 
sand victims, and the volcanic eruptions and subaqueous earth- 
quake of Java, August 26, in which a tract of country fifty 
miles square, containing a range of mountains sixty-five miles 
in length, sunk below the level of the ocean, whose waters 
rushed in, and now cover all that space. Islands also in the 
adjacent straits of Sunda disappeared, and in all one hundred 
thousand persons are supposed to have perished. This gives 
the appalling aggregate of over one hundred and thirty thou- 
sand persons who perished by violent deaths, chiefly through 
disturbances of the elements and the convulsions of nature, 
during that fateful year. And similar disturbances have fol- 



678 



THE REVELATION. 



lowed with more or less severity in subsequent years. Look 
at the disastrous earthquakes in Japan in 1896, in which more 
than ten thousand persons lost their lives, and the panic in 
which thousands of Russian peasants perished at the corona- 
tion of the czar, in the same year. 

Verse 15. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by 
her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 
16. And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, 
and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and 
pearls ! 17. For in one hour so great riches is come to naught. And 
every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many 
as trade by sea, stood afar off, 18, And cried when the} r saw the smoke 
of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city ! 19. And 
they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, 
Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in 
the sea by reason of her costliness ! for in one hour is she made desolate. 

Emotions of the Wicked, — The reader can readily imagine 
the cause of this universal voice of mourning, lamentation, and 
woe. Imagine the plague of sores preying upon men, the rivers 
turned to blood, the sea like the blood of a dead man, the sun 
scorching men with fire, their traffic gone, and their silver and 
gold unable to deliver them, and we need not wonder at their 
exclamations of distress, nor that shipmasters and sailors 
join in the general wail. Yery different is the emotion the 
saints are called upon to exercise, as the following testimony 
shows : — 

Verse 20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and 
prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 21. And a mighty angel 
took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, 
Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and 
shall be found no more at all. 22. And the voice of harpers, and musi- 
cians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in 
thee ; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any 
more in thee : and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all 
in thee ; 23. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee : 
and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more 
at all in thee : for thy merchants were the great men of the earth ; for by 
thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24. And in her was found the 
blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. 

Emotions of the Righteous. — The apostles and prophets 
are here called upon to rejoice over great Babylon in her 




BABYLON FALLS, LIKE A MILLSTONE THROWN INTO THE SEA- 

Rev. 18 : 21. 



CHAPTER 18, VERSES 15-24. 



679 



destruction, as it is in close connection with this destruction 
that they will all be delivered from the power of death and 
grave by the first resurrection. 

Like a great millstone, Babylon sinks to rise no more. 
The various arts and crafts that have been employed in her 
midst, and have ministered to her desires, shall be practiced no 
more. The pompous music that has been employed in her 
imposing but formal and lifeless service, dies away forever. 
The scenes of festivity and gladness, when the bridegroom and 
the bride have been led before her altars, shall be witnessed 
no more. 

Her sorceries constitute her leading crime; and sorcery is a 
practice which is involved in the Spiritualism of to-day. ' ' And 
in her was found the blood " of "all that were slain upon the 
earth." From this it is evident that ever since the introduction 
of a false religion into the world, Babylon has existed. In her 
has been found, all along, opposition to the work of God, and 
persecution of his people. In reference to the guilt of the 
last generation, see on chapter 16 : 6. 





Verse 1. And after these things I heard a great voice of much peo- 
ple in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and 
power, unto the Lord our God : 2. For true and righteous are his judg- 
ments ; for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth 
with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her 
hand. 3. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for- 
ever and ever. 

ONTINUING the subject of chapter 18, the apostle here 
introduces the song of triumph which the redeemed saints 
strike up on victor harps, when they behold the com- 
plete destruction of that great system of opposition to God and 
his true worship comprehended in great Babylon. This de- 
struction takes place, and this song is sung, in connection with 
the second coming of Christ at the commencement of the thou- 
sand years. 

Forever and Wver. — There can but one query arise on this 
scripture, and that is how it can be said that her smoke rose 
up forever and ever. Does not this language imply eternity of 
suffering % Let it be remembered that this is borrowed lan- 
guage; and to gain a correct understanding of it, we must go 
back to its first introduction, and consider its import as there 
used. In Isaiah 34 will be found the language from which, 
in all probability, such expressions as these are borrowed. 
Under the figure of Idumea, a certain destruction is brought 
to view; and it is said of that land that its streams should be 
[680] 



CHAPTER 19, VERSES 1-8. 



681 



turned into pitch, its dust into brimstone, that it should become 
burning pitch, and not be quenched night nor day, but that its 
smoke should go up forever. Now this language is spoken, as 
all must concede, of one of two things; either of the particular 
country called Idumea, or of the whole earth under that name. 
In either case it is evident that the language must be limited. 
Probably the whole earth is meant, from the fact that the 
chapter opens with an address to the earth and all that is 
therein, the world and all that come forth of it; and the in- 
dignation of the Lord is declared to be upon all nations. Now, 
whether this refers to the depopulation and desolation of the 
earth at the second advent, or to the purifying fires that shall 
purge it of the effects of the curse at the end of the thousand 
years, the language must still be limited; for after all this, 
a renovated earth is to come forth, to be the abode of the 
nations of the saved throughout eternity. Three times this ex- 
pression of smoke going up forever is used in the Bible : once 
here in Isaiah 34, of the land of Idumea as a figure of the 
earth; in Kevelation 14 (which see), of the worshipers of the 
beast and his image; and again in the chapter we are now con- 
sidering, referring to the destruction of great Babylon; and all 
of them apply to the very same time, and describe the same 
scenes; namely, the destruction visited upon this earth, the 
worshipers of the beast, and all the pomp of great Babylon, 
at the second advent of our Lord and Saviour. 

Verse 4. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell 
down and worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen ; Alle- 
luia. 5. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all 
ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6. And I 
heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many 
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia : for the 
Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give 
honor to him : for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath 
made herself ready. 8. And to her was granted that she should be 
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is the right- 
eousness of saints. 

A Song of Triumph. — The Lord God omnipotent, the 
Father, reigneth, is the language of this song. He reigns at 
the present time, and has ever reigned, in reality, though sen- 



* 



682 



THE REVELATION. 



tence against an evil work has not been executed speedily ; but 
now he reigns by the open manifestation of his power in the 
subjugation of all his foes. 

"Rejoice, . . . for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and 
his wife hath made herself ready." Who is the -"bride, the 
Lamb's wife," and what is the marriage? A vast field for 
thought is here opened, and material furnished for a more 
lengthy exposition than falls within the design of this work. 
The Lamb's wife is the New Jerusalem which is above. This 
will be noticed more fully on chapter 21. The marriage of 
the Lamb is his reception of this city. When he receives this 
city, he receives it as the glory and metropolis of his kingdom; 
hence with it he receives his kingdom, and the throne of his 
father David. This may well be the event designated by the 
marriage of the Lamb. That the marriage relation is often 
taken to illustrate the union between Christ and his people, is 
granted; but the marriage of the Lamb here spoken of is a 
definite event to take place at a definite time; and if the 
declaration that Christ is the head of the church as the 
husband is the head of the wife (Eph. 5 : 23), proves that 
the church is now the Lamb's wife, then the marriage of 
the Lamb took place long ago; but that cannot be, accord- 
ing to this scripture, which locates it in the future. Paul 
told his Corinthian converts that he had espoused them to 
one husband, even Christ. This is true of all converts. 
But while this figure is used to denote the relation that they 
then assumed to Christ, was it a fact that the marriage of 
the Lamb took place in Corinth in Paul's day, and that it has 
been going on for the past eighteen hundred years? Fur- 
ther remarks on this point are deferred to a consideration 
of chapter 21. 

But if the city is the bride, it may be asked how it can be 
said that she made herself ready. Answer : By the figure of 
personification, which attributes life and action to inanimate 
objects. (See a notable instance in Psalm 114.) Again, the 
query may arise on verse 8 how a city can be arrayed in the 
righteousness of the saints ; but if we consider that a city with- 



CHAPTER 19, VERSES 9, 10. 



683 



out inhabitants would be but a dreary and cheerless place, we 
see at once how this is. Reference is had to the countless 
number of its glorified inhabitants in their shining apparel. 
The raiment was granted to her. What is granted to her ? 
Isaiah 54 and Gal. 4 : 21-31 will explain. To the new-cove- 
nant city are granted many more children than to the old ; these 
are her glory and rejoicing. The goodly apparel of this city, 
so to speak, consists of the hosts of the redeemed and immor- 
tal ones who walk its golden streets. 

Verse 9. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are 
called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, 
These are the true sayings of God. 10. And I fell at his feet to worship 
him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not : I am thy fellow servant, 
and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus : worship God : for 
the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 

The Marriage Supper. — Many are the allusions to this 
marriage supper in the New Testament. It is referred to in 
the parable of the marriage of the king's son (Matt. 22 : 1-14), 
again in Luke 14 : 16-24. It is the time when we shall eat 
bread in the kingdom of God, when we are recompensed at the 
resurrection of the just. Luke 14 : 12-15. It is the time when 
we shall drink the fruit of the vine new with our Redeemer 
in his heavenly kingdom. Matt. 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 
22 : 18. It is the time when we shall sit at his table in the 
kingdom (Luke 22 : 30), and he will gird himself and come 
forth and serve us. Luke 12 : 37. Blessed' indeed are they 
who have the privilege of partaking of this glorious feast. 

John 1 8 Fellow Servant. — A word on verse 10, in reference 
to those who think they find here an argument for conscious- 
ness in death. The mistake which such persons make on this 
scripture is in supposing that the angel declares to John that 
he is one of the old prophets come back to communicate with 
him. The person employed in giving the Revelation to John 
is called an angel, and angels are not the departed spirits of 
the dead. Whoever takes the position that they are, is to all 
intents a Spiritualist; for this is the very foundation-stone of 
their theory. But the angel says no such thing. He simply 



684 



THE REVELATION. 



says that lie is the fellow servant of John, as he had been the 
fellow servant of his brethren the prophets. The term fdlovi 
serixmt implies that they were all on a common footing as serv- 
ants of the great God; hence he was not a proper object for 
John to worship. (See on chapter 1:1, ;, His Angel. 5 ') 

Verse 11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse: 
and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteous- 
ness he doth judge and make war. 12= His eyes were as a flame of fire, 
and on his head were many crowns ; and he had a name written, that no 
man knew but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped 
in blood : and his name is called The Word of God, 14. And the armies 
which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine 
linen, white and clean. 15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, 
that with it he should smite the nations : and he shall rule them with a 
rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath 
of Almighty God. 16. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a 
name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. 17, And I saw an angel 
standing in the sun : and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the 
fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves 
together unto the supper of the great God ; 18. That ye may eat the 
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, 
and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all 
men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19. And I saw the 
beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to 
make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20. 
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought 
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the 
mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were 
cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21. And the rem- 
nant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which 
sword proceeded out of his mouth : and all the fowls were filled with 
their flesh. 

Christfs Second Coming. — With verse 11 a new scene is 
introduced. We are here carried back to the second coming of 
Christ, this time under the symbol of a warrior riding forth to 
battle. Why is he represented thus \ — Because he is going 
forth to war, — to meet '' the kings of the earth and their 
armies," and this would be the only proper character in which 
to represent him on such a mission. His vesture is dipped in 
blood. (See a description of the same scene in Isa. 63 : 1-4.) 
The armies of heaven, the angels of God, follow him. Yerse 
15 shows how he rules the nations with a rod of iron, when 



CHAPTER 19, VERSES 11-21. 



685 



they are given him for an inheritance, as recorded in the second 
psalm, which popular theology interprets to mean the conver- 
sion of the world. But would not such expressions as "tread- 
eth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty 
God," be a very singular description of a work of grace upon 
the hearts of the heathen for their conversion % The great and 
final display of the " winepress of God's wrath," and also of 
" the lake of fire," occurs at the end of the thousand years, as 
described in chapter 20; and to that it would seem that the full 
and formal description of Eev. 14 : 18-20 must apply. But 
the destruction of the living wicked at the second coming of 
Christ, at the beginning of the thousand years, furnishes a scene 
on a smaller scale, similar, in both these respects, to what takes 
place at the close of that period. Hence in the verses before 
us we have this mention of both the winepress of wrath and 
the lake of fire. 

Christ has at this time closed his mediatorial work, and laid 
off his priestly robes for kingly attire ; for he has on his vesture 
and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of 
lords, This is in harmony with the character in which he here 
appears; for it was the custom of warriors anciently to have 
some kind of title inscribed upon their vesture. Verse IT. 
What is to be understood by the angel standing in the sun ? 
In chapter 16 : IT, we read of the seventh vial being poured out 
into the air, from which it was inferred that as the air envelops 
the whole earth, that plague would be universal. May not the 
same principle of interpretation apply here, and show that the 
angel standing in the sun, and issuing his call from thence to 
the fowls of heaven to come to the supper of the great God, 
denotes that this proclamation will go wherever the sun's rays 
fall upon this earth? And the fowls will be obedient to 
the call, and fill themselves with the flesh of horses, kings, 
captains, and mighty men, Thus, while the saints are partak- 
ing of the marriage supper of the Lamb, the wicked in their own 
persons furnish a great supper for the fowls of heaven. 

The beast and false prophet are taken. The false prophet 
is the one that works miracles before the beast. This proves 



686 



THE REVELATION. 



him to be identical with the two-horned beast of chapter 13, 
to whom the same work, for the very same purpose, is there 
attributed. The fact that these are cast alive into the lake of 
fire, shows that these powers will not pass away- and be suc- 
ceeded by others, but be living powers at the second advent of 
Christ. 

The papacy has long been in the field, and has come to the 
closing scenes in its career. And its overthrow is emphatically 
predicted in other prophecies than the one now before us, nota- 
bly in Dan. 7 : 11, in which the prophet says that he beheld till 
the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the 
burning flame. And this followed close upon the utterance of 
great words which the horn spake, which words were doubtless 
heard in the decree of papal infallibility in the great ecumenical 
council of 1870. This power must therefore be very near the 
close of its existence. But it does not perish till Christ ap- 
pears, for it then goes alive into the lake of fire. 

The other power associated with it, the two-horned beast, 
we see fast approaching the very climax of the work it has to 
do before it also goes alive into the lake of fire. And how 
thrilling is the thought that we see before us two great prophetic 
agencies which are, by all the evidences, near the close of their 
history, which yet are not to cease till the Lord shall appear in 
all his glory. 

It appears from verse 21 that there is a remnant not num- 
bered with the beast or false prophet. These are slain by the 
sword of Him that sits upon the horse, which sword proceeds 
out of his mouth. This sword is doubtless what is spoken of 
elsewhere as < ' the spirit of his mouth ' ' and ' ' the breath of his 
lips, " with which the Lord shall slay the wicked at his appearing 
and kingdom. Isa. 11 : 4; 2 Thess. 2 : 8. 




Verse 1. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the 
key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2, And he laid 
hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and 
bound him a thousand years, 3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, 
&nd shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the 
nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled : and after 
that he must be loosed a little season. 

Slf^HE event with which this chapter opens seems to follow, 
$ f}(> in chronological order, the events of the preceding chap- 
o ter. The inquiries that here arise are, Who is the angel 
that comes down from heaven ? what are the key and chain 
which he has in his hand? what is the bottomless pit? and 
what is meant by binding Satan a thousand years ? 

1. The Angel, — Is this angel Christ, as some suppose? — 
Evidently not. A bright ray of light is thrown from the old 
typical service directly upon this passage. Thus, Christ is the 
great High Priest of this dispensation. On the day of atone- 
ment, anciently, two goats were taken by the priest, upon 
which lots were cast, one for the Lord, and the other for the 
scape-goat. The one upon which the Lord's lot fell, was then 
slain, and his blood carried into the sanctuary to make an 
-atonement for the children of Israel, after which the sins of the 
people were confessed upon the head of the other, or scape- 
goat, and he was sent away by the hand of a fit man into the 
wilderness, or a place not inhabited. Now, as Christ is the 

[687 J 



688 



THE REVELATION. 



priest of this dispensation, so by arguments, a few of which we 
here introduce, Satan is shown to be the antitypical scape-goat. 

(1.) The Hebrew word for scape-goat, as given in the 
margin of Lev. 16 : 8, is Azazel. On this verse, Jenks, in his 
Comprehensive Commentary, remarks : ' ' Scape-goat. (See 
diff. opin. in Bochart.) Spencer, after the oldest opinion of 
the Hebrews and Christians, thinks Azazel is the name of the 
devil; and so Rosenmiiller, whom see. The Syriac has Azzail, 
the angel (strong one) who revolted." The Devil is here evi- 
dently pointed out. Thus we have the definition of the Scrip- 
ture term in two ancient languages, with the oldest opinion of 
the Christians, in favor of the view that the scape-goat is a 
type of Satan. 

Charles Beecher, in Redeemer and Redeemed, pp. 67, 68, 
says : 6 ' What goes to confirm this is that the most ancient 
paraphrases and translations treat Azazel as a proper name. 
The Chaldee paraphrase and the targums of Onkelos and 
Jonathan would certainly have translated it if it was not a 
proper name, but they do not. The Septuagint, or oldest 
Greek version, renders it by ano^o^aiog (apopompaios), a word 
applied by the Greeks to a malign deity sometimes appeased by 
sacrifices. Another confirmation is found in the book of Enoch, 
where the name Azalzel, evidently a corruption of Azazel, is 
given to one of the fallen angels, thus plainly showing what 
was the prevalent understanding of the Jews at that day. 

4 ' Still another evidence is found in the Arabic, where 
Azazel is employed as the name of the evil spirit. In addition 
to these, we have the evidence of the Jewish work Zohar, and 
of the Cabalistic and Rabbinical writers. They tell us that the 
following proverb was current among the Jews : ' On the day 
of atonement, a gift to Sammael. ' Hence Moses Gerundinensis 
feels called to say that it is not a sacrifice, but only done because 
commanded by God. 

6 ' Another step in the evidence is when we find this same 
opinion passing from the Jewish to the early Christian church. 
Origen was the most learned of the Fathers, and on such a 
point as this, the meaning of a Hebrew word, his testimony is 



CHAPTER 20, VERSES 1-3. 



689 



reliable. Origen says : ' He who is called in the Septuagint 
aTroTTOjuiraios, and in the Hebrew Azazel, is no other than the 
Devil. ' 

"In view, then, of the difficulties attending any other 
meaning, and the accumulated evidence in favor of this, Heng- 
stenberg affirms with great confidence that Azazel cannot be 
anything else than another name for Satan." 

(2.) In the common acceptation of the word, the term scape- 
goat is applied to any one who has become obnoxious to the 
claims of justice; and while it is revolting to all our conceptions 
of the character and glory of Christ to apply this term to him, 
it must strike every one as a very appropriate designation of 
the Devil, who is styled in Scripture the accuser, adversary, 
angel of the bottomless pit, Beelzebub, Belial, dragon, enemy, 
evil spirit, father of lies, murderer, prince of devils, serpent, 
tempter, etc., etc. 

(3.) The third reason for this position is the very striking 
manner in which it harmonizes with the events to transpire in 
connection with the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, as far 
as revealed to us in the Scriptures of truth. 

We behold in the type, (a) the sin of the transgressor 
transferred to the victim; (b) we see that sin borne by the 
ministration of the priest and the blood of the offering into the 
sanctuary; (c) on the tenth day of the seventh month we see 
the priest, with the blood of the sin-offering for the people, 
remove all their sins from the sanctuary, and lay them upon 
the head of the scape-goat; and (d) the goat bears them away 
into a land not inhabited. Lev. 1 : 1-4; 4 : 3-6; 16 : 5-10, 
15, 16, 20-22. 

Answering to these events in the type, we behold in the 
antitype, (a) the great offering for the world made on Calvary; 
(b) the sins of all those who avail themselves of the merits of 
Christ's shed blood by faith in him, borne, by the ministration 
of Christ while pleading his own blood, into the new-covenant 
sanctuary; (c) after Christ, the minister of the true tabernacle 
(Heb. 8 : 2), has finished his ministration, he will remove the 
sins of his people from the sanctuary, and lay them upon the 
- 44- 



690 



THE REVELATION. 



head of their author, the antitypical scape-goat, the Devil; and 
(d) the Devil will be sent away with them into a land not 
inhabited. 

This we believe to be the very event described in the verses 
under notice. The sanctuary service is, at the time here speci- 
fied, closed. Christ lays upon the head of the Devil the sins 
which have been transferred to the sanctuary, and which are 
imputed to the saints no more, and the Devil is sent away, not 
by the hand of the High Priest, but by the hand of another 
person, according to the type, into a place here called the bot- 
tomless pit. Hence this angel is not Christ. For a full expo- 
sition of this subject, see the work, Looking unto Jesus; or 
Christ in Type and Antitype. 

2. The Key and Chain. — It cannot be supposed that the 
key and chain are literal; they are rather used merely as sym- 
bols of the power and authority with which this angel is clothed 
upon this occasion. 

3, The Bottomless Pit. — The original word signifies an 
abyss, bottomless, deep, profound. Its use seems to be such 
as to show that the word denotes any place of darkness, deso- 
lation, and death. Thus in Kev. 9 : 1, 2, it is applied to the 
barren wastes of the Arabian desert, and in Rom. 10 :"7, to 
the grave; but the passage which specially throws light upon the 
meaning of the word here is Gen. 1 : 2, where we read that 
"darkness was upon the face of the deep." The word there 
rendered deep is the same word that is here rendered bottomless 
pit/ so that passage might have been translated, ' ' Darkness was 
upon the face of the abyss, or bottomless pit. ' ' But we all know 
what is meant by the word deep as there used; it is applied to 
this earth in its chaotic state. Precisely this it must mean in 
this third verse of Revelation 20. At this time, let it be borne 
in mind, the earth is a vast charnel-house of desolation and 
death. The voice of God has shaken it to its foundations; the 
islands and mountains have been moved out of their places; 
the great earthquake has leveled to the earth the mightiest 
works of man ; the seven last plagues have left their all-deso- 
lating footprints over the earth; the burning glory attending 



CHAPTER 20, VERSES 1-3. 



691 



the coming of the Son of man has borne its part in accomplish- 
ing the general desolation; the wicked have been given to the 
slaughter, and their putrefying flesh and bleaching bones lie' 
unburied, ungathered, and unlamented from one end of the 
earth to the other end thereof. Thus is the earth made empty 
and waste, and turned upside down. Isa. 24 : 1. Thus is it 
brought back again, partially, at least, to its original state of 
confusion and chaos. (See Jer. 4 : 19-26, especially verse 23.) 
And what better term could be used to describe the earth thus 
rolling on in its course of darkness and desolation for a thousand 
years than that of the abyss, or bottomless pit ? Here Satan 
will be confined during this time, amid the ruins which indi- 
rectly his own hands have wrought, unable to flee from his 
habitation of woe, or to repair in the least degree its hide- 
ous ruin. 

4. The Binding of Satan. — We well know that Satan, in 
order to work, must have subjects upon whom to work. With- 
out these, he can do nothing. But during the thousand years 
of his confinement to this earth, all the saints are in heaven, 
beyond the power of his temptations; and all the wicked are 
in their graves, beyond his power to deceive. His sphere of 
action is circumscribed, he being at this time confined to this 
earth; and thus is he bound, being condemned throughout this 
period to a state of hopeless inactivity. This, to a mind that 
has been so busy as his has been for the past six thousand 
years in deceiving the world, must be a punishment of the most 
intense severity. 

According to this exposition, the "binding" of Satan means 
simply the placing beyond his reach of the subjects upon whom 
he works, and his being 4 ' loosed" means their being brought 
again, by a resurrection, to a position where he can again exer- 
cise his power upon them. Over this exposition some assume 
to grow merry, telling us that we have mistaken the parties, 
and have the wicked bound, not the Devil. Yet how often do 
we hear, in the daily transactions of life, such expressions as 
these: My way was completely hedged up; my hands were 
completely tied, etc. But do we understand, when persons 



692 



THE REVELATION. 



use such expressions, that some insurmountable obstacle was 
literally thrown across the path they were traveling, or that 
their hands were literally confined with ropes or cords? — No; 
but simply that a combination of circumstances rendered it im- 
possible for them to act. Just so here; and why will not people 
grant to the Bible the same liberty of speech that they give, 
without question and without ridicule, to their fellow men in the 
common intercourse of life ? But more than this, there is here 
a great limitation of Satan's power, which may well be called a 
" binding." He no longer has the power of traversing space, 
and visiting other worlds; but like man he is confined to this 
earth, which he nevermore leaves. The place of the ruin he 
has wrought now becomes his gloomy prison-house, till he is 
led out to execution, at the end of the thousand years. 

Verse 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment 
was given unto them : and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded 
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not 
worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark 
upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with 
Christ a thousand years. 5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until 
the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6. 
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such 
•the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of 
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 

The Exaltation of the Saints. — From the Devil in his 
gloomy confinement, John now directs our attention to the 
saints in victory and glory, — the saints reigning with Christ — 
their employment being to assign to the wicked dead the punish- 
ment due their evil deeds. From that general assembly John 
then selects two classes as worthy of especial attention : first, 
the martyrs, those who had been beheaded for the witness of 
Jesus; and secondly, those who had not worshiped the beast 
and his image. This class, the ones who refuse the mark of 
the beast and his image, are of course the ones who hear and 
obey the third message of Revelation 14; but these are not the 
ones who are beheaded for the witness of Jesus, as some who 
claim that the last generation of saints are all to be slain, would 
have us believe. The word rendered which, in the expression, 



CHAPTER 20, VERSES 4-6. 



" and which had not worshiped the beast," etc., shows that 
there is another class introduced. The word is the compound 
relative, bang (Jiostis), not merely the simple relative or, and 
is denned by Liddell and Scott, "Whosoever; whichsoever; 
any one who; anything which; " and by Robinson, " One who; 
some one who; whosoever; whatsoever." As one class, John 
saw the martyrs, and as another, he saw those vjho had not 
worshiped the beast and his image. 

It is true that bong is sometimes used as a simple relative, as 
in 2 Cor. 3 : 14; Eph. 1 : 23, but never in such constructions as 
this, preceded by the conjunction ml 

Lest any one should say that if we render the passage 
"and whosoever had not worshiped the beast," we thereby in- 
clude millions of heathen and sinners who have not worshiped 
the beast, and promise them a reign with Christ of a thousand 
years, we would call attention to the fact that the preceding 
chapter states that the wicked had all been slain, and the seal 
of death has been set upon them for a thousand years; and 
John is viewing only the righteous company who have part 
in the first resurrection. 

To avoid the doctrine of two resurrections, some claim that 
the passage, ' ' But the rest of the dead lived not again until the 
thousand years were finished," is an interpolation, not found in 
the original, and hence not genuine. Even if this were so, it 
would not disprove the main proposition that the righteous dead 
are raised by themselves, in a "first resurrection," and that 
there is a second resurrection a thousand years later, in which 
all the wicked are brought from their graves. But the criticism 
is not true. All scholarship is against it. The Revised Yersion 
retains the passage. 

Two Resurrections. — ' < The rest of the dead lived not again 
till the thousand years were finished." Whatever may be said 
to the contrary, no language could more plainly prove two 
resurrections; the first, a resurrection of the righteous at the 
commencement of the thousand years; and the second, that of 
the wicked at the end of that period. On such as have part in 
the first resurrection, the second death will have no power. 



694 



THE REVELATION. 



They can pass unharmed through the elements which destroy 
the wicked like chafL They will be able to dwell with devour- 
ing fire and everlasting burnings (Isa. 33 : 14, 15); they will 
be able to go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men who 
have transgressed against the Lord, as the quenchless fire and 
undying worm are preying upon them. Isa. 66 : 24. The dif- 
ference between the righteous and the wicked in this respect 
is seen again in the fact that while God is to the latter a con- 
suming fire, he is to his people both a sun and a shield. 

The Wicked Raised to Life. — The wicked who are raised at 
the end of the thousand years as really live again as they have 
once lived on the earth. To deny this is to do violence to this 
scripture. In what physical condition they will be raised, we 
are not informed. It is usual to say on this point that what 
we have lost unconditionally in Adam, is restored uncondition- 
ally in Christ. With respect to physical condition, this should 
not perhaps be taken in an unlimited sense; for we have lost 
greatly in stature and vital force, which need not be restored 
to the wicked. If they are brought back to the average mental 
and physical condition which they enjoyed during life, or the 
period . of their probation, that would certainly be sufficient to 
enable them to receive at last understandingly the reward due 
them for all their deeds. 

Verse 7. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be 
loosed out of his prison, 8. And shall go out to deceive the nations which 
are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them 
together to battle : the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9. 
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp 
of the saints about, and the beloved city : and fire came down from God 
out of heaven, and devoured them. 10. And the devil that deceived 
them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and 
the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever 
and ever. 

The Perdition of Ungodly Men. — At the end of the one 
thousand years, the holy city, the New Jerusalem, in which 
the saints have dwelt in heaven during that period, comes 
down, and is located upon the earth, and becomes the camp of 
the saints, around which the resurrected wicked come up, num- 



CHAPTER 20, VERSES 7-10. 



695 



berless as the sand of the sea. The Devil deceives them, and 
thus brings them up to this battle. They are induced to com- 
mence an impious warfare upon the holy city, in prospect of 
some advantage to be gained by fighting against the saints. 
Satan doubtless persuades them that they can- overcome the 
saints, dispossess them of their city, and still hold possession of 
the earth. But fire comes down from God out of heaven, and 
devours them. The word here rendered devoured, Professor 
Stuart admits is " intensive," and signifies, "to eat up, devour, 
so that it denotes utter excision." (Hudson's Christ our Life, 
p. 146.) This is the time of the perdition of ungodly men, — 
the time when the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the 
earth also, and when the works that are in the earth shall be 
burned up. 2 Peter 3 : 7, 10. In the light of these scriptures, 
we can see how the wicked are to receive their recompense in 
the earth (Prov. 11 : 31); we can see also that this recompense 
is not eternal life in misery, but an "utter excision," entire 
and complete destruction. 

The Wicked Never Tread the New Earth. — Two views 
deserve a passing notice at this point. The first is that the 
earth is renewed at the second coming of Christ, and is the 
habitation of the saints during the thousand years; the other 
is that when Christ appears the second time, he sets up his 
kingdom in Palestine, and performs, in connection with his 
saints, a work of conquest over the nations left on the earth 
during the thousand years, and subdues them to himself. 

One among many objections to the first view is that it 
makes the wicked, in their resurrection, come up, with the 
Devil at their head, and tread with their unhallowed feet upon 
the purified and holy earth, and the saints, who have held 
possession for a thousand years, are obliged to yield the ground, 
and flee into the city. But we cannot believe that the saints' 
inheritance will ever be thus marred, or that the fair plains of 
the earth made new will ever be soiled with the polluting tread 
of the resuscitated wicked; for besides outraging all ideas of 
propriety, there is no scripture from which even an inference 
can be drawn to support it. 



696 



THE REVELATION. 



And as to the second view, one among many of its absurd- 
ities is that notwithstanding Christ and his saints have con- 
quered the earth during the thousand years, at the end of this 
period the wicked get the upper hands of them, they lose their 
territory, the work of a thousand years is undone, and they 
are compelled to beat an ignominious retreat into the city for 
shelter, leaving the earth to the undisputed sway of their foes. 
Those who wish, may rack their brains in trying to harmonize 
the inconsistencies and absurdities of such theories, or may 
endeavor to draw consolation from the dubious prospect. For 
ourselves, we prefer better employment and a brighter hope. 

A Thousand Years in Heaven. — In contrast with these 
theories, there is a beautiful harmony in the view herein 
presented; namely, that the saints are with Christ in heaven 
during the thousand years while the earth lies desolate; that 
the saints and the city come down, and the wicked dead are 
raised and come up against it ; that the latter there receive 
their judgment; and that from the purifying fires which destroy 
them come forth the new heavens and the new earth, to be 
the abode of the righteous throughout endless ages. 

The Subjects of Torment. — From verse 10, some have 
argued that the Devil alone was to be tormented day and 
night; but the testimony of this verse is more extensive than 
that. The verb ' ' shall be tormented " is in the plural, and 
agrees with the beast and false prophet; whereas it would be 
in the singular number if it referred to the Devil alone. It 
will b,e noticed that in the expression, ' ' where the beast and 
false prophet are," are is a supplied word. It would be more 
proper to supply the words vjere cast, answering to what was 
spoken of the Devil just before. The sentence would then 
read, ''The Devil was cast into the lake of fire, where the 
beast and false prophet were cast." The beast and false 
prophet were cast in there, and destroyed, at the commence- 
ment of the thousand years. Kev. 19 : 20. The individuals 
of whom those organizations were then composed, now come 
up in the second resurrection, and a similar and final destruc- 
tion is visited upon them, under the names, Gog and Magog. 



CHAPTER 20, VERSES 11-15. 



697 



The Lake of Fire. — Some reader may be inclined to ask 
for a definition of the lake of fire. As a comprehensive defini- 
tion, may it not be called a symbol of the agencies which God 
employs to close up his controversy with the living wicked at 
the beginning of the thousand years, and with all the hosts 
of the ungodly at the end of that period ? Literal fire will of 
course be largely employed in this work. We can better de- 
scribe its effects than the thing itself. At the second coming of 
Christ, it is the flaming fire in which the Lord Jesus is revealed; 
it is the spirit of his mouth and brightness of his coming by 
which the man of sin is to be consumed; it is the fire in which 
great Babylon shall be utterly burned. Rev. 18 : 8. At the 
end of the thousand years, it is the day that shall burn as an 
oven (Mai. 4:1); it is the fervent heat that shall melt the 
elements and the earth, and burn up the works that are therein; 
it is the fire of Tophet ' < prepared for the king ' ' (the Devil and 
his angels, Matt. 25 : 41), the pile whereof is deep and large, 
and which ' ' the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, 
doth kindle." Isa. 30 : 33. It is the fire that comes down 
from God out of heaven. (On the expression, "tormented 
day and night forever and ever," see on chapter 14 : 12.) 

Verse 11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, 
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was 
found no place for them. 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, 
stand before God ; and the books were opened ; and another book was 
opened, which is the book of life : and the dead were judged out of those 
things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13. 
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it : and death and hell deliv- 
ered up the dead which were in them : and they were judged every man 
according to their works. 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake 
of fire. This is the second death. 15. And whosoever was not found 
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

With verse 11, John introduces another scene to take place 
in connection with the final doom of the ungodly. It is the 
great white throne of judgment, before which they are assem- 
bled to receive their awful sentence of condemnation and death. 
Before this throne the heavens and the earth flee away, so that 
no place is found for them. A moment's reflection on the 



698 



THE REVELATION. 



changes which must then take place in the earth will bring out 
the great force of this language. The scene is that of Peter's 
burning day, which is the ' ' perdition of ungodly men, ' ' and in 
which even the ' ' elements ' ' melt with fervent heat. 2 Peter 
3 : 7-13. The city is then located upon the earth, the founda- 
tions of course extending under its whole area, so that it will 
not be affected by any changes that may take place, or any 
conditions which may exist, in the earth beneath it. Fire 
comes down from God out of heaven. 

First, the works that are in the world are burned up; and 
by the poisonous gases evolved, and the flames, the wicked are 
destroyed; this is the fire of Gehenna, which contains all the 
elements necessary to consume utterly every mortal being that 
comes under its power (Mark 9 : 13-48); and then will be ful- 
filled Isa. 66 : M : "And they [the righteous] shall go forth, 
and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed 
against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their 
fire be quenched ; and they shall be an abhorring unto all 
flesh." 

Secondly, the heat is raised till all the material of which 
this globe is composed, is fused like the ores in a smelter's 
furnace, and the whole earth becomes a fluid, fiery, molten 
mass. Upon this the city floats, as the ark of Noah floated 
upon the waters of the flood. Then will be fulfilled Isa. 
33 : 11 : kk Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire I 
who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings ? ' ' The 
answer, in the following verses, shows it to be the righteous, 
and this must be the time when it will be fulfilled. 

Thirdly, there is one stage more to be reached. It is well 
known that with a sufficient degree of heat, any substance on 
this earth can be reduced to the condition of gas, and thus 
become invisible. So will it be then with this whole earth. 
The heat being raised to a sufficient degree of intensity, would 
not the whole earth be converted into gas, and become invisi- 
ble, and thus appear most literally to flee away, so that no 
place is found for it ? The city would then seem to be, as vir- 
tually it would be, suspended in mid-heaven. 



CHAPTER 20, VERSES 11-15. 



699 



But the elements are not destroyed. They are only, by 
that process, purged from the last and minutest taint of sin, 
and every token of the curse. The almighty fiat again goes 
forth, "Behold I make all things new. .... It is done" 
(Rev. 21 : 5, 6), and the particles combine again to compose a 
new world; and there beneath the wondering and admiring 
gaze of all the redeemed and the angelic host, the work of 
creation is gone through with again. At the first creation, the 
morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted 
for joy. Job 38 : 7. At this new creation, that song and 
shout will be augmented by the glad voices of the redeemed. 
So will this earth, wrenched for a time, by sin, from its intended 
orbit of joy and peace, be brought back, renewed, into harmony 
with a loyal universe, to be the everlasting home of the saved. 

The Books of Record. — They are judged out of the things 
written in the books, from which we learn the solemn fact that 
a record of all our deeds is kept on high. A faithful and 
unerring record is made by the angelic secretaries. The 
wicked cannot conceal from them any of their deeds of dark- 
ness. They cannot bribe them to pass over in their record 
any of their unlawful acts. They must meet them all again, 
and be judged accordingly. 

The Execution of the Sentence. — They are to be punished 
according to their works. The Scriptures declare that they 
shall be rewarded according to their deeds. There are, then, 
to be degrees in the punishment of the wicked; and it may be 
asked how this can be harmonized with the view that death is 
the punishment for sin, and comes upon all alike. Let us ask 
believers in eternal misery how they will maintain degrees in 
their system. They tell us the intensity of the pain endured 
will be in each case proportioned to the guilt of the sufferer. 
But how can this be ? Are not the flames of hell equally 
severe in all parts ? and will they not equally affect all the 
immaterial souls cast therein ? But God can interpose, it is 
answered, to produce the effect desired. Yery well, then, we 
reply, cannot he also interpose, if necessary, and graduate the 
pain which will attend the infliction of death upon the sinner 



700 



THE REVELATION. 



as 'the climax of his penalty? So, then, our view is equal with 
the common one in this respect, while it possesses great advan- 
tages over it in another; for while that has to find its degrees 
of punishment in intensity of pain alone, the duration in all 
cases being the same, this may not only have degrees in pain 
but in duration also; inasmuch as some may perish in a short 
space of time, and the weary sufferings of others be long drawn 
out. But yet we apprehend that the bodily suffering will be 
but an unnoticed trifle compared with the mental agony, that 
keen anguish which will rack their souls as they get a view of 
their incomparable loss, each according to his capacity of appre- 
ciation. The youth who had but little more than reached the 
years of accountability, being less able to comprehend his sit- 
uation and his loss, will of course feel it less ; to him of older 
years, more capacity, and consequently a deeper experience in 
sin, the burden of his fate will be proportionately greater; 
while the man of giant intellect and almost boundless compre- 
hension,— who hence possessed greater influence for evil, and 
so was the more guilty for devoting his powers to the service 
of that evil, — being able to understand his situation fully, com- 
prehend his fate, and realize his loss, will feel it most keenly of 
all. Into his soul the iron will indeed enter most intolerably 
deep. And thus, by an established law of mind, the sufferings 
of each may be most accurately adjusted to the magnitude of 
his guilt. 

That the degree of suffering which each one is to endure is 
taken into the account as a part of the punishment of his 
crimes, is evident from Kom. 2 : 6-10. Paul, here speaking 
of the future "judgment of God," says: — 

" Who will render to every man according to his deeds : to 
them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory 
and honor and immortality [he will render], eternal life; but 
unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but 
obey unrighteousness [he will render], indignation and wrath, 
tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth 
evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile." 



CHAPTER 20, VERSES 11-15. 



701 



The Book of Life. — Why, it may be asked, is the book of 
life brought forth on this occasion, when all who have part in 
the second resurrection, beyond which this scene is located, are 
already forejudged to the second death ? One apparent reason, 
at least, is, That it may be seen that none of the names of all 
the multitude who die the second death are in the book of life, 
and why they are not there; and if the names have ever been 
there, why they were not retained; that all the intelligences 
of the universe may see that God acts with strict justice and 
impartiality. 

"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This 
is the second death. ' ' This is the final epitaph of all the forces 
that have risen up from first to last, to oppose the will and 
work of the Lord Almighty. Satan originated and led out in 
this nefarious work. A portion of heaven's angels joined him 
in his false position and murderous work; and for him and 
them the everlasting fire was prepared. Matt. 25 : 41. Men 
become involved therein only because they join him in his 
rebellion. But here the controversy closes. The fire is to 
them everlasting because it allows of no escape. The second 
death is their punishment, and it is ' 4 everlasting punishment ' ' 
(Matt. 25 : -46) because they never find release from its dread 
embrace. 44 The wages of sin is death." 

4 4 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life 
was cast into the lake of fire." Keader, is your name written 
in the book of life ? Are you striving to avert in your own 
case the fearful doom that awaits the ungodly ? Rest not till 
you have reason to believe that your name is registered in 
the list of those who are to share at last in the blessings of 
eternal life. 



jgp#HE burden of this chapter, commencing with verse 2, is 
«|fe the New Jerusalem; but before that is introduced, John 
*y£ tells us of how the present heaven and earth and sea, are 

to be disposed of, as follows : — 

Verse 1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth : for the first 
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 

New Heaven and New Earth. — By the first heaven and 
first earth, Johu unquestionably means the present heaven and 
earth, "the heavens and the earth which are now. ' ' 2 Peter 
3:7. Some have supposed that when the Bible speaks of the 
third heaven, in which are paradise and the tree of life (2 Cor. 
12 : 2; Rev. 2 : 7), it refers to the heaven which is yet future, 
and does not prove that there is a paradise and tree of life 
literally in existence in heaven at the present time. They base 
their view on the fact that Peter speaks of three heavens and 
earths, — (1) those before the flood, (2) the ones which now 
are, and (3) the ones which are to come. But that theory is 
completely overturned by the first verse of Revelation 21; for 
John here reckons but two heavens and earths. The ones 
which now are he calls the Jirst, so that the future new heavens 
would, according to this count, be the second, and not the third, 
as Peter reckons. Hence it is certain that Peter did not design 
to establish a numerical order, in accordance with which we 
should speak of the one as the first, the other as the second, 
[702] 



CHAPTER 21, VERSE 1. 



703 



and the last as the third. The object of his reasoning was 
simply to show that as a literal heaven and earth succeeded to 
the destruction of the earth by the flood, so a literal heaven 
and earth would result from the renovation of the present 
system by fire. There is no proof, therefore, that the Bible, 
when it speaks of the third heaven, refers simply to the third 
state of the present heavens and earth, for then all the Bible wri- 
ters would uniformly have so reckoned it. Thus the arguments of 
those who would endeavor to disprove the idea of a literal para- 
dise and tree of life in existence at the present time, fall to the 
ground. The Bible certainly recognizes three heavens in the 
present constitution of things; namely, the first, or atmospheric 
heaven, which the fowls of the air inhabit; the second, the 
planetary heaven, the region of the sun, moon, and stars; and 
the third, high above the others, where paradise and the tree of 
life are found (Rev. 2:7); where God has his residence and 
his throne (Rev. 22 : 1, 2); to which Paul was caught up in 
heavenly vision (2 Cor. 12 : 2); to which Christ ascended when 
he left the earth (Rev. 12 : 5); where he now, as priest-king, 
sits upon the throne with his Father (Zech. 6 : 13); and where 
the glorious city stands, awaiting the saints when they enter 
into life. Rev. 21 : 2. Blessed be God that from that bright 
land intelligence has been brought to this far-off world of ours ! 
and thanks be to his holy name that a way has been opened 
from the dark places of earth, which leads like a straight and 
shining path of light up to those blest abodes ! 

The Sea No More. — Because John says, 1 ' And there was no 
more sea," the question is sometimes asked, " Is there, then, to 
be no sea in the new earth ? " It does not certainly follow from 
this text that there will be none; for John is speaking only of 
the present heaven and earth and sea. It might be translated 
thus : 4 ' For the first heaven and the first earth were passed 
away, and the sea \ovk egtiv en] was no more; " that is, the old 
sea no longer appeared, any more than the old heaven and old 
earth; and yet there may be a new sea as there is a new earth. 

Dr. Clarke says on this passage : ' ' The sea no more ap- 
peared than did the first heaven and earth. All was made 



704 



THE REVELATION. 



new/ and probably the new sea occupied a different position, 
and was differently distributed, from that of the old sea." 

The river of life, of which we read in the following chapter, 
proceeding from the throne of God, and flowing through the 
broad street of the city, must find some place into which to 
discharge its waters; and what can that be but the new-earth 
sea ? That there will be a sea, or seas, in the new earth, may 
be inferred from the prophecy which speaks of Christ's future 
reign as follows : ' ' And his dominion shall be from sea even to 
sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth." Zech. 
9 : 10. But that three quarters of the globe will then, as 
now, be abandoned to a waste of waters, cannot be expected. 
The new world will have everything which will contribute to 
its utility and beauty. 

Verse 2. And I John saw the holy city. New Jerusalem, coming 
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her hus- 
band. 3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the 
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they 
shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their 
God. 4. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there 
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be 
any more pain : for the former things are passed away. 

The Fathers House. — In connection with the view which 
John has of the holy city coming down from God out of heaven, 
a voice is heard, saying, ' ' The tabernacle of God is with 
men, and he will dwell with them." The conclusion naturally 
follows that the tabernacle here mentioned is the city. This 
same city is called in John 14 the Father's house in which 
are many mansions. If an objection should arise in any mind 
that this is too permanent a place to be called a tabernacle, we 
reply that the word "tabernacle " sometimes has the significa- 
tion of a permanent dwelling-place. The great God takes up 
his abode on this earth; but we do not suppose that God is 
confined to this, or any other one of the worlds of his creation. 
He here has a throne, and the earth enjoys so much of his 
presence that it may be said that he dwells among men. And 
why should this be thought a strange thing? God's only 
begotten Son is here as ruler of his special kingdom; the holy 



CHAPTER 21, VERSES 2-8. 



705 



city, which is called the Father's house, and which it is natural 
to suppose will be the most beautiful and glorious object in the 
universe, will be here; and the heavenly hosts take an interest 
in this world probably above what they feel in any other; yea, 
reasoning from one of the Saviour's parables, there will be 
more joy in heaven over one world redeemed than over ninety 
and nine which have needed no redemption. 

No Cause for Tears. — And God shall wipe away all tears 
from their eyes. He does not literally wipe away tears from 
the eyes of his people; for there will be no tears in that king- 
dom to be thus wiped away; but he wipes away tears by re- 
moving all causes of tears. 

Terse 5. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all 
things new. And he said unto me, Write : for these words are true and 
faithful. 6. And he said unto me, It is clone. I -am Alpha and Omega, 
the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the 
fountain of the water of life freely. 

The New Creation. — He that sits upon the throne is the 
same being that is mentioned in verses 11, 12 of the preceding 
chapter. He says, "I make all things new; " not, I make all 
new things. The earth is not destroyed, annihilated, and a 
new one created, but all things are made over new. Let us 
rejoice that these words are true and faithful. And when this 
is accomplished, all will be ready for the utterance of that 
sublime sentence, "It is done." The dark shadow of sin has 
then forever passed off from the universe. The wicked, root and 
branch (Mai. 4 :1), are wiped out of the land of the living, and 
the universal anthem of praise and thanksgiving (Rev. 5 : 13) 
goes up from a redeemed world and a clean universe to a 
covenant-keeping God. 

Verse 7. He that overcometh shall inherit all things ; and I will be 
his God, and he shall be my son. 8. But the fearful, and unbelieving, 
and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, 
and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burn- 
etii with fire and brimstone : which is the second death. 

The Great Inheritance. — The overcomers are Abraham's 
seed, and heirs according to the promise. Gal. 3 : 29. The 
45 



706 



THE REVELATION. 



promise embraces the world (Eom. 4 : 13); and the saints will 
go forth upon the new earth, not as servants or aliens, but as 
lawful heirs to the heavenly estate and proprietors of the soil. 

The Fear that Hath Torment. — But the fearful and unbe- 
lieving have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and 
brimstone. The word "fearful" has been a trouble to some 
conscientious ones, who have had fears more or less in all their 
Christian experience. It may be well, therefore, to inquire 
what kind of fear is here meant. It is not fear of our own 
weakness, or of the power of the tempter; it is not fear of sin- 
ning, or of falling out by the way, or of coming short at last. 
Such fear will be very apt to drive us to the Lord. But it is 
a fear connected with unbelief; a fear of the ridicule and oppo- 
sition of the world; a fear to trust God, and venture out upon 
his promises ; a fear that he will not fulfil what he has de- 
clared, and that consequently we shall be left to shame and 
loss for believing on him. Cherishing such fear one can be 
only half-hearted in his service. This is most dishonoring to 
God. This is the fear which we are commanded not to have. 
Isa. 51 : 7. This is the fear which brings into condemnation 
here, and will finally bring all who are controlled by it into 
the lake of fire, which is the second death. 

Verse 9. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which 
had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, 
saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10. 
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and 
showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven, 
from God, 11. Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a 
stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12. And 
had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve 
angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve 
tribes of the children of Israel : 13. On the east three gates ; on the 
north three gates ; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 
14. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the 
names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

The Bride, the LarnVs Wife. — This testimony is positive 
that the New Jerusalem is the bride, the Lamb's wife. The 
angel told John distinctly that he would show him the bride, 
the Lamb's wife; and we may be sure that he did not practice 



CHAPTER 21, VERSES 9-14. 



707 



upon him a piece of deception, but fulfilled his promise to the 
very letter; but all that he did show him was the New 
Jerusalem. It would be unnecessary to offer a word of proof 
that this city is not the church, were it not that popular 
theology has so mystified the Scriptures as to give it this 
application. This city, then, cannot be the church, because 
it would be absurd to talk of the church as lying foursquare, 
and having a north side, a south side, an east side, and a west 
side. It would be absurd to speak of the church as having 
a wall great and high, and having twelve gates, three on 
each side toward the four points of the compass. Indeed, 
the whole description of the city which is given in this chapter 
would be more or less an absurdity if applied to the church. 

Again: Paul, to the Galatians, speaks of the same city, and 
says that it is the mother of us all, referring to the church. 
The church, then, is not the city itself, but the children of the 
city. And verse 24 of the chapter under comment, speaks of 
the nations of the saved, who walk in the light of this city. 
These nations, who are the saved, and on earth constitute the 
church, are distinct from the city, in the light of which they 
walk. It follows that the city is a literal city, built of all the 
precious materials here described. 

But how can it then be the bride, the Lamb's wife % 
Answer : Inspiration has seen fit to speak of it under this 
figure, and with every believer in the Bible, that should be 
sufficient. The figure is first introduced in Isaiah 54. The 
new-covenant city is there brought to view. It is repre- 
sented as being desolate while the old covenant was in force, 
and the Lord's care was confined to the Jews and old Jeru- 
salem; but it is said to her that "the children of the desolate" 
shall be many more than 4 'the children of the married wife." 
It is further said to her, "Thy Maker is thy husband;" and 
the closing promise of the Lord to this city, contains a very 
similar description to the one which we have here in Revela- 
tion; namely, "I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay 
thy foundations with sapphires; and I will make thy windows of 
agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of 



708 



THE REVELATION. 



pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the 
Lord." It is this very promise to which Paul refers, and upon 
which he comments in his Epistle to the Galatians, when he 
says, ' ' But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the 
mother of -us all" (Gal. 4:26); for he quotes, in the next 
verse, this very prophecy from the book of Isaiah to sustain 
this declaration. Here, then, Paul makes an inspired applica- 
tion of Isaiah's prophecy which cannot be mistaken; and in 
this he shows that under the figure of a " woman," a "wife " 
whose "children" were to be multiplied, the Lord by the 
prophet speaks of the New Jerusalem, the city above, as con- 
trasted with the earthly Jerusalem in the land of Palestine; 
and of this city the Lord calls himself the "husband." In 
addition to this, we have the positive testimony of the twenty- 
first chapter of Revelation to the same facts. 

With this view, all is harmony. Christ is called the Father 
of his people (Isa. 9:6); the Jerusalem above is called our 
mother, and we are called the children; and, carrying out the 
figure of a marriage, Christ is represented as the Bridegroom, 
the city as the bride, and we, the church, as the guests. There 
is no confusion of parties here. But the popular view, which 
makes the city the church, and the church the bride, exhibits 
the inexcusable confusion of making the church at the same 
time both mother and children, both bride and guests. 

The view that the marriage of the Lamb is the inauguration 
of Christ as King upon the throne of David, and that the par- 
ables of Matt. 22 : 1-14; 25 : 1-13; Luke 12 : 35-37; 19 : 12, 13, 
etc., apply to that event, is further confirmed by a well-known 
ancient custom. It is said that when a person took his position 
as ruler over the people, and was invested with that power, it 
was called a marriage, and the usually accompanying feast was 
called a marriage supper. Dr. Clarke, in his note on Matt, 
22 : 2, thus speaks of it : — 

" A marriage for his son.'] A marriage feast, so the word 
yafiovg properly means. Or a feast of inauguration, when his son 
was put in possession of the government, and thus he and his 
new subjects became married together. Many eminent critics 



CHAPTER 21, VERSES 15-18. 



so understand this parable as indicating the Father's induction 
of his Son into his Messianic kingdom. (See 1 Kings 1 : 5-9, 
19, 25, etc., where such a feast is mentioned.)" 

A Christian City. — The names of the twelve apostles in 
the foundations of the city, show it to be a Christian and not a 
Jewish city; while the names of the twelve tribes on the gates, 
show that all the saved, from this dispensation as well as from 
the former, are reckoned as belonging to some one of the twelve 
tribes; for all must enter the city through some one of these 
twelve gates. It is this fact which explains those instances in 
which Christians are called Israel, and are addressed as the 
twelve tribes, as in Kom. 2 : 28, 29; 9 : 6-8; Gal. 3 : 29; Eph. 
2 :12, 13; James 1 : 1; Rev. 7 : 4. 

Verse 15. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure 
the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16. And the city 
lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth : and he meas- 
ured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and 
the breadth and the hight of it are equal. 17. And he measured the wall 
thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure 
of a man, that is, of the angel. 18. And the building of the wall of it was 
of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 

The City' 9 s Dimensions. — According to this testimony the 
city is laid out in a perfect square, measuring equally on all 
sides. The measure of the city, John declares, was twelve 
thousand furlongs. Twelve thousand furlongs, eight furlongs 
to the mile, equal fifteen hundred English miles. It may be 
understood that this measure is the measure of the whole cir- 
cumference of the city, and not merely of one side. This 
appears, from Kitto, to have been the ancient method of meas- 
uring cities. The whole circumference was taken, and that was 
said to be the measure of the city. According to this rule, the 
New Jerusalem will be three hundred and seventy-five miles 
on each side. The length, breadth, and hight of it are equal. 
From this language, the question has arisen whether the city 
was as high as it was long and broad. The word rendered 
equal is icos (isos) ; and from the definitions given by Liddell and 
Scott, we learn that it may be used to convey the idea of pro- 
portion : the hight was proportionate to the length and breadth. 



710 



THE REVELATION. 



And this idea is strengthened by the fact that the wall was only 
a hundred and forty-four cubits high. Taking the cubit at about 
twenty-two inches, the length which is most commonly assigned 
to the ancient cubit, it would give only two hundred and sixty- 
four feet as the hight of the wall. Now, if the city is just as 
high as it is long and broad, that is, three hundred and seventy- 
five miles, this wall of less than three hundred feet would be, 
in comparison, a most insignificant affair. Probably, there- 
fore, the hight of the buildings of the city is to be judged of 
by the hight of the wall, which is distinctly given. 

The following criticisms on verse 16, the verse which 
gives the dimensions of the heavenly city, are undoubtedly 
correct : — 

' ' It has been inferred from the above text that the New 
Jerusalem City is to be as high as it is long, and that its length 
will be twelve thousand furlongs, oy fifteen hundred miles. It 
seems to us entirely unnecessary to place such a construction 
upon the language. The word equal does not always mean the 
same as to dimensions or position; it is frequently used in the 
sense of proportion. If we were to say that the length and 
the breadth and the hight of the city were in proportion, we 
should not violate the language." This view is taken by 
Jas. Du Pui, A. M., in his Exposition of the Apocalypse. 
The following from Thomas Wicks, author of Lectures on the 
Apocalypse, presents the same idea : 6 ' The language, however, 
will bear another meaning, which is far more natural. It is 
not that the length and breadth and hight were severally equal 
to each other, but equal with themselves; that is, the length was 
everywhere the same, and the breadth everywhere the same, 
and the hight the same. It was perfect and symmetrical in all 
its proportions. This is confirmed by the fact distinctly stated, 
that the wall was one hundred and forty-four cubits high, or 
two hundred and sixteen feet, a proper hight for a wall; while 
it is said that ' the length is as large as the breadth. ' ' ' This 
writer allows but eighteen inches to the cubit. 

The Greek word isos, which is translated equal, will, accord- 
ing to Pickering, bear the meaning of proportion. Greenfield, 



CHAPTER 21, VERSES 19, 20. 



711 



in defining one of its cognate words (isotes), gives to it the 
sense of 6i equal proportion," and refers to 2 Cor. 8 : 13, 14 as 
an example where this definition is quite admissible. 

It would appear, therefore, that the hight of the city was 
proportionate to its length and breadth, and not that it was as 
high as it was long. The text certainly admits of this interpre- 
tation; and this frees the language from all ambiguity, and the 
city from all disproportion, and shows perfect harmony in the 
general description. 

The building of the wall was of jasper. Jasper is a pre- 
cious stone usually described as of " a beautiful bright green 
color, sometimes clouded with white or spotted with yellow." 
This we understand to be the material of the main body of the 
wall built upon the twelve foundations hereafter described. 
And let it be remembered that this jasper wall was "clear as 
crystal " (verse 11), revealing all the glories within. 

Verse 19. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished 
with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the 
second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20. 
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the 
eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, 
a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 

A Literal City. — If we consider this description exclu- 
sively metaphorical, as is done by the great mass of those who 
profess to be Bible teachers, and spiritualize away this city into 
aerial nothingness, how unmeaning, yea, even bordering upon 
folly, do these minute descriptions appear; but if we take it, as 
it is evidently designed to be understood, in its natural and 
obvious signification, and look upon the city as the Revelator 
evidently designed we should look upon it, as a literal and 
tangible abode, our glorious inheritance, the beauties of which 
we are to look upon with our own eyes, how is the glory of the 
scene enhanced ! 

It is in this light, though it is not for mortal man, of him- 
self, to conceive of the grandeur of those things which God has 
prepared for those that love him, that men may delight to con- 
template the glories of their future abode. We love to dwell 



712 



THE REVELATION. 



upon those descriptions which convey to our minds, as well as 
language can do it, an idea of the loveliness and beauty which 
shall characterize our eternal home. And as we become ab- 
sorbed in the contemplation of an inheritance tangible and 
sure, courage springs up anew, hope revives, faith plumes her 
wings; and with feelings of thanksgiving to God that he has 
placed it within our power to gain an entrance to the mansions 
of the redeemed, we resolve anew, despite the world and all its 
obstacles, that we will be among the sharers -in the proffered 
joy. Let us, then, look at the precious foundation stones of 
that great city through whose gates of pearl God's people may 
hope soon to enter. 

The Glorious Foundation. — "The word adorned'''' (gar- 
nished), says Stuart, " may raise a doubt here whether the 
writer means to say that into the various courses of the foun- 
dation ornamental precious stones were only here and there 
inserted; but taking the whole description together, I do not 
apprehend this to have been his meaning. 

5 ' Jasper, as we have seen above, is usually a stone of 
green, transparent color, with red veins; but there are many 
varieties. 

' ' Sapphire is a beautiful azure, or sky-blue, color, almost as 
transparent and glittering as a diamond. 

' ' Chalcedony seems to be a species of agate, or more prop- 
erly the onyx. The onyx of the ancients was probably of a 
bluish white, and semipellucid. 

' ' The emerald was of a vivid green, and next to the ruby 
in hardness. 

u Sardonyx is a mixture of chalcedony and carnelian, which 
last is of a flesh-color. 

" Sardius is probably the carnelian. Sometimes, however, 
the red is quite vivid. 

"Chrysolite, as its name imports, is of a yellow or gold 
color, and is pellucid. From this was probably taken the con- 
ception of the pellucid gold which constitutes the material of 
the city. 

£ ' Beryl is of a sea-green color. 



CHAPTER 21, VERSE 21. 



713 



£ < The topaz of the present day seems to be reckoned as 
yellow; but that of the ancients appears to have been pale 
green. Plin., 38, 8, Bellermann. Uriin et Thummim, p. 37. 

u Chrysoprasus, of a pale yellow and greenish color, like a 
scallion; sometimes it is classed at the present day under topaz. 

" Hyacinth [jacinth], of a deep red or violet color. 

' 6 Amethyst, a gem of great hardness and brilliancy, of a 
violet color, and usually found in India. 

' ' In looking over these various classes, we find the first 
four to be of a green or bluish cast, the fifth and sixth, of a red 
or scarlet; the seventh, yellow; the eighth, ninth, and tenth, of 
different shades of the lighter green; the eleventh and twelfth 
of a scarlet or splendid red. There is classification, therefore, 
in this arrangement; a mixture not dissimilar to the arrange- 
ment in the rainbow, with the exception that it is more 
complex. " 

Verse 21. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several 
gate was of one pearl : and the street of the city was pure gold, as it 
were transparent glass. 

The Gates of Pearl. — Whether we understand that these 
gates were of solid pearl, or whether composed of pearls thickly 
set in a framework of some other precious material, does not 
materially affect the testimony. If it should be objected that 
it would be contrary to the nature of things to have a pearl 
large enough for a gate, we reply that God is able to produce 
it; the objection simply limits the power of God. But in either 
case the gates would outwardly have the appearance of pearl, 
and in ordinary language would be described as gates of pearl. 

The Streets of Burnished Gold. — In this verse, as also in 
verse 18, the city is spoken of as built of gold, pure, like unto 
clear glass, or, as it were, transparent glass. It is not neces- 
sary to conclude from this language that the gold is of itself 
transparent. Take that, for instance, which composes the 
street. If it were really transparent, it would simply permit 
us to look through and behold whatever was beneath the city, 
— the substratum upon which it rested, — a view which cannot 
be anticipated as specially pleasing. But let us suppose the 



714 



THE REVELATION. 



golden pavement of the street to be so highly polished as to 
possess perfect powers of reflection, like the truest mirror, and 
we can see at once that the effect would be grand and striking 
in the extreme. Think for a moment what the appearance of a 
street so paved would be. The gorgeous palaces on either side 
would be reflected beneath, and the boundless expanse of the 
heavens above would also appear below; so that to the person 
walking those golden streets it would appear that both himself 
and the city were suspended between the infinite hights above 
and the unfathomable depths below, while the mansions on 
either side of the street, having equal powers of reflection, 
would marvelously multiply both palaces and people, and 
conspire to render the whole scene novel, pleasing, beautiful, 
and grand beyond conception. 

Vekse 22. And I saw no temple therein : for the Lord God Almighty 
and the Lamb are the temple of it. 

The Living Temple. — With the temple is connected the 
idea of sacrifices and a mediatorial work ; but when the city is 
located upon the earth, there will be no such work to be per- 
formed. Sacrifices and offerings, and all mediatorial work 
based thereon, will be forever past; hence there will be no 
need of the outward symbol of such work. But the temple 
in old Jerusalem, besides being a place for sacrificial worship, 
was the beauty and glory of the place; and as if to anticipate 
the question that might arise as to what would constitute the 
ornament and glory of the new city if there was to be no temple 
therein, the prophet answers, u The Lord God Almighty and 
the Lamb are the temple of it." It appears that there is now 
a temple in the city. Chapter 16 : 17. What becomes of that 
temple when the city comes down, revelation does not inform 
us. Possibly it is removed from the city, or it may be put to 
such a different use as to cease to be the temple of God. 

Verse 23. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, 
to shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the 
light thereof. 24. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk 
in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and 
honor into it. 25. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day : 



CHAPTER 21, VERSES 22-27. 



715 



for there shall be no night there. 26. And they shall bring the glory and 
honor of the nations into it. 27. And there shall in no wise enter into 
it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or 
maketh a lie : but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. 

No Night There. — It is in the city alone, probably, that 
there is no night. There will of course be days and nights in 
the new earth, but they will be days and nights of surpassing 
glory. The prophet, speaking of this time, says, ' ' Moreover, 
the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the 
light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, 
in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, 
and healeth the stroke of their wound." Isa. 30 : 26. But if 
the light of the moon in that state is as the light of the sun, 
how can there be said to be night there ? Answer : The light 
of the sun shall be sevenfold, so that although the night is as 
our day, the day will be sevenfold brighter, making the con- 
trast between day and night there as marked, perhaps, as at 
the present time; but both will be surpassingly glorious. 

Verse 24 speaks of nations and kings. The nations are the 
nations of the saved ; and we are all kings, in a certain sense, 
in the new-earth state. We possess a "kingdom," and are to 
4 i reign ' ' forever and ever. 

But it appears from some of our Saviour's parables, as in 
Matt. 25 : 21, 23, that some will occupy in a special sense the 
position of rulers, and may thus be spoken of as kings of the 
earth, in connection with the nations of the saved. These 
bring their glory and honor into the city, when on the Sabbaths 
and new moons they there come up to worship before God. 
Isa. 66 : 23. 

Reader, do you want a part in the unspeakable and eternal 
glories of this heavenly city ? See to it, then, that your name 
is written in the Lamb's book of life; for those only whose 
names are on that heavenly " roll of honor " can enter there. 



Verse 1. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as 
crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2. In the 
midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree 
of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every 
month : and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 

(gj^HE angel continues to show John the wonderful things 
|, of the city of God. In the midst of the street of the 
5 city was the tree of life. 
The Broad Street. — Although the word street is here used 
in the singular number, with the definite article the before it, it 
is not to be supposed that there is but one street in the city; 
for there are twelve gates, and there must of course be a street 
leading to each gate. But the street here spoken of is the street 
by way of distinction; it is the main street, or, as the original 
word signifies, the broad way, the great avenue. 

The River of Life. — The tree of life is in the midst of this 
street; but the tree of life is on either side of the river of life; 
hence the river of life is also in the midst of the street of the 
city. This river proceeds from the throne of God. The picture 
thus presented before the mind is this : The glorious throne of 
God at the head of this broad way, or avenue; out of that throne 
the river of life, flowing lengthwise through the center of the 
street; and the tree of life growing on either side, forming a 
high and magnificent arch over that majestic stream, and spread- 
ing its life-bearing branches far away on either hand. How 
[716] 



CHAPTER 22, VERSES 1, 2. 



717 



broad this broad street is, we have no means of determining; 
but it will be at once perceived that a city three hundred and 
seventy-five miles from side to side in either direction, would 
be able to devote quite an ample space to its great avenue. 

A very natural conception of the arrangement of the streets 
of the city would be that shown in the accompanying diagram; 
namely, the throne in the center, and a grand avenue in which 
is the river of life and the tree of life extending out in four 
directions to the wall 
of the city on all of 
its four sides. This 
would give all corre- 
sponding parts of the 
city equal access to 
the grand avenue. 
It would also furnish 
opportunity for one 
magnificent gate in- 
the center of each 
side of the city, 
ope n i n g upon the 
grand avenue. The 
length of each of 
these four branches 
of the avenue (de- 
pending of course on how much space is allotted to the throne) 
would be at least some one hundred and eighty miles. It may 
be said that this is carrying speculation a degree too far. Per- 
haps it is. But it is assumed that those who hope soon to 
enter into that city, will not be averse to a little innocent 
speculation in that direction. 

The Tree of Life. — But how can the tree of life be but one 
tree, and still be on either side of the river? 1. It is evident 
that there is but one tree of life. From Genesis to Kevelation 
it is spoken of as but one — the tree of life. 2. To be at once 
on both sides of the river, it must have more than one trunk, 
in which case it must be united at the top or in its upper 




DIAGRAM OF THE CITY. 



718 



THE REVELATION. 



branches, in order to form but one tree. John, caught away 
in the Spirit, and presented with a minute view of this won- 
derful object, says that it was on either side of the river. 
Another who has been privileged to behold in vision the 
marvelous glories of the heavenly land, has borne similar 
testimony : "We all marched in, and felt that we had a perfect 
right in the city. Here we saw the tree of life and the throne 
of God. Out of the throne came a pure river of water, and 
on either side of the river was the tree of life. At first I 
thought I saw two trees. I looked again, and saw that they 
were united at the top in one tree. So it was the tree of life 
on either side of the river of life; its branches bowed to the 
place where we stood; and the fruit was glorious, which 
looked like gold mixed with silver." — Experience and Views, 
pp. 12, 13. And why should such a tree be looked upon as 
unnatural or impossible, since we have an illustration of it here 
upon earth ? The banyan tree of India is of precisely the same 
nature in this respect. Of this tree the Encyclopedia Americana 
thus speaks : ' ' The ficus Indica (Indian fig, or banyan tree) 
has been celebrated from antiquity from its letting its branches 
drop and take root in the earth, which in their turn become 
trunks, and give out other branches, a single tree thus forming 
a little forest." In just this way the tree of life could extend 
and support itself. 

The tree of life bears twelve kinds of fruit, and yields its 
fruit every month. This fact throws light upon the declaration 
in Isa. 66 : 23, that all flesh shall come up "from one new 
moon to another" to worship before the Lord of hosts. The 
words new moon should be rendered month. The Hebrew has 
isnn (hhodesh), the second definition of which Gesenius gives 
as " a month. " The Septuagint has piv kn ^vog {inen eh menos), 
' < from month to month. ' ' The redeemed come up to the holy 
city from month to month to partake of the fruit of the tree of 
life. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations; literally, 
the service of the nations. This cannot be understood as 
implying that any will enter the city in a diseased or deformed 
condition to need healing; for then the conclusion would follow 



CHAPTER 22, VERSES 3-9. 



719 



that there will always be persons there in that condition, as 
we have no reason to understand that the service of the leaves, 
whatever it is, will not be perpetual, like the use of the fruit; 
but the idea of disease and deformity in the immortal state is 
contrary to the express declarations of other scriptures. 

Verse 3. And there shall be no more curse : but the throne of God 
and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants shall serve him.' 

This language proves that the great God, the Father, is 
referred to, as well as the Son. The marks of the curse, the 
deadly miasma, and the ghastly scenes of desolation and decay, 
will no more be seen on the earth. Every breeze will be 
balmy and life-giving; every scene, beauty; and every sound, 
music. 

Verse 4. And they shall see his face ; and his name shall be in their 
foreheads. 

The word his, in the sentence, ' ' And they shall see his 
face," refers to the Father; for he is the one whose name is in 
their foreheads; and that it is the Father, we learn from chapter 
14 : 1. This will be a fulfilment of the promise in Matt. 5 : 8, 
4 'Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." 

Verse 5. And there shall be no night there ; and they need no can- 
dle, neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light : and 
they shall reign forever and ever. 6. And he said unto me, These say- 
ings are faithful and true : and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent 
his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be 
done. 7. Behold, I come quickly : blessed is he that keepeth the sayings 
of the prophecy of this book. 

Here, again, we have the declaration that there shall be no 
night in the city; for the Lord God will be the light of the 
place. "Verse 7 proves that Christ is the speaker, a fact which 
it is of especial importance to bear in mind in connection with 
verse 14. . To keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book 
is to obey the duties brought to view in connection with the 
prophecy, as, for instance, in chapter 14 : 9-12. 

Verse 8. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when 
I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel 
which showed me these things. 9. Then saith he unto me, See thou do 
it not : for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and 



720 



THE REVELATION. 



of them which keep the sayings of this book : worship God. 10. And he 
saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book : for the 
time is at hand. 11. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he 
which is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous, let him be 
righteous still : and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12. And behold, 
I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according 
as his work shall be. 

(For remarks on verse 9, see on chapter 19 : 10.) In verse 
10 John is told not to seal the sayings of the prophecy of this 
book. The popular theology of our day says that the book 
is sealed. One of two things follows from this : either John 
disobeyed his instructions, or the theology above referred to is 
fulfilling Isa. 29 : 10-ltt. Verse 11 proves that probation closes, 
and the cases of all are unalterably fixed, before the coming of 
Christ; for in the very next verse Christ says, " Behold, I come 
quickly. ' ' What dangerous and insane presumption, then, to 
claim, as Age-to-come believers do, that there will be probation 
even after that event ! Christ's reward is with him, to give 
every man as his work shall be, which is another conclusive 
proof that there can be no probation after that event; for all 
the living wicked, those "who know not God," the heathen, 
and those " who obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ," 
the sinners of Christian lands (2 Thess. 1 : 8), will be visited 
with swift destruction from Him who then comes in flaming 
fire to take vengeance on his foes. 

The declaration of verse 11 marks the close of probation, 
which is the close of Christ's work as mediator. But we are 
taught by the subject of the sanctuary that this work closes 
with the examination of the cases of the living in the investi- 
gative Judgment. When this is accomplished, the irrevocable 
fiat can be pronounced. But when the cases of the living are 
reached in the work of judgment, we apprehend that what 
remains to be done will be so speedily accomplished that all 
these cases may almost be said to be decided simultaneously. 
We have therefore no occasion to speculate as to the order of 
work among the living; that is, whose cases will be decided 
first, and whose last, nor whether or not it will be known that 
any are decided before all is finished. 



CHAPTER 22, VERSES 10-14. 721 

Verse 13. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the 
first and the last. 14. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that 
they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the 
gates into the city. 

Christ here applies to himself the appellation of Alpha and 
Omega. As applied to him, the expression must be taken in a 
more limited sense than when applied to the Father, as in chap- 
ter 1:8. Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and 
the end, of the great plan of salvation. Yerse 14, as before 
noticed, is the language of Christ. The commandments of 
which he speaks are his Father's. Reference can be had only 
to the ten commandments as delivered on Mount Sinai. He 
pronounces a blessing upon those who keep them. Thus in the 
closing chapter of the word of God, and near the very close of 
the last testimony which the faithful and true Witness there 
left for his people, he solemnly pronounces a blessing upon 
those who keep the commandments of God. Let those who 
believe in the abolition of the law, candidly consider the 
decisive bearing of this important fact. 

Instead of the reading, u Blessed are they that do his com- 
mandments," some translations, including the Revised Version, 
have, " Blessed are they that wash their robes." On this point 
Alford's Testament for English Readers has this note: "The 
difference in the readings is curious, being in the original that 
between poiountes tas enfolds autoa, and plunontes tas stolas 
auton, either of which might easily be mistaken for the other." 
In view of this statement, it is not surprising, perhaps, that 
this difference of reading is found. But there seems to be 
good evidence that the first is the original, from which the 
latter is a variation by the errors of transcribers. Thus the 
Syriac New Testament, one of the very earliest translations 
from the original Greek, reads according to the common 
English version. And Cyprian, whose writings antedate any 
extant Greek manuscript (Ante-Mcene Library, Vol. XIII, 
p. 122), quotes the text as reading, "Blessed are they that do 
his commandments."- We' may therefore safely consider this 
as the genuine reading. 

46 



722 



THE REVELATION. 



Veese 15. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, 
and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 

Dog is the Bible symbol of a shameless and impudent man. 
Who would wish to be left in the company of those whose lot 
is outside of the city of God \ yet how many will stand con- 
demned as idolaters, how many as those who make lies, and 
how many more as those who love them, and love to circulate 
them after they are made ! 

Verse 18. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these 
things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and 
the bright and morning star. 

Jesus testifies these things in the churches, showing that 
the whole book of Revelation is given to the seven churches, 
which is another incidental proof that the seven churches are 
representatives of the church through the entire gospel dispen- 
sation. Christ is the offspring of David, in that he appeared 
on earth in the line of Davids descendants. He is the root of 
David, inasmuch as he is the great prototype of David, and the 
maker and upholder of all things. 

Veese 17. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that 
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever 
will, let him take the water of life freely. 

Thus are all invited to come. The Lord's love for mankind 
would not be satisfied in merely preparing the blessings of 
eternal life, opening the way to them, and announcing that 
all might come who would; but he sends out an earnest invita- 
tion to come. He sets it forth as a favor done to himself if 
persons will come and partake of the infinite blessings provided 
by his infinite love. His invitation, how gracious ! how full ! 
how free ! None of those who are finally lost will ever have 
occasion to complain that the provisions made for their salva- 
tion were not sufficiently ample. They can never reasonably 
object that the light given to show them the way of life was not 
sufficiently clear They can never excuse themselves on the 
ground that the invitations and entreaties that Mercy has given 
them to turn and live, were not sufficiently full and free. From 



CHAPTER 22, VERSES 15-17. 



723 



the very beginning, there has been a power exerted as strong 
as could be exerted and still leave man his own free agent, — a 
power to draw him heavenward, and raise him from the abyss 
into which he has fallen. Come ! has been the entreaty of the 
Spirit from the lips of God himself, from the lips of his proph- 
ets, from the lips of his apostles, and from the lips of his Son, 
even while, in his infinite compassion and humility, he was 
paying the debt of our transgression. 

The last message of mercy as it is now going forth, is 
another and final utterance of divine long-suffering and com- 
passion. Come, is the invitation it gives. Come, for all things 
are ready. And the last sound that will fall from Mercy's .lips 
on the ear of the sinner ere the thunders of vengeance burst 
upon him, will be the heavenly invitation, Come. So great is 
the loving-kindness of a merciful God to rebellious man. Yet 
they will not come. Acting independently and deliberately, 
they refuse to come. So when they shall see Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob in the kingdom of God, and themselves thrust out, 
they will have no one to accuse, no one to blame, but their own 
selves. They will be brought to feel this in all its bitterness; 
for the time will come when Pollok's thrilling description of 
the condemnation of the lost will be true to the letter: — 

"And evermore the thunders murmuring spoke 
From out the darkness, uttering loud these words, 
Which every guilty conscience echoed back: 

'Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not.' 
Dread words! that barred excuse, and threw the weight 
Of every man's perdition on himself 
Directly home — 

' Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not.' " 

The bride also says, Come. But the bride is the city, and 
how does that say Come ? If we could be strengthened to 
behold the living glories of that city and live, and should be 
permitted to gaze upon its dazzling beauty, and be assured that 
we had a perfect right to enter therein and bathe in that ocean 
of bliss and blessedness and revel in its glory forever and 
ever^ would it not then say to us, Come, with a persuasion 



724 



THE REVELATION. 



which no power could resist ? Who of us, in view of this, 
could turn away, and say, I have no desire for an inheritance 
there ? 

But though we cannot now look upon that city, the unfail- 
ing word of God has promised it, and that is sufficient to inspire 
us with implicit and living faith; and through the channel of 
that faith it says to us, Come. Come, if you would inherit 
mansions where sickness, sorrow, pain, and death can never 
enter; if you would have a right to the tree of life, and pluck 
its immortal fruit, and eat and live; if you would drink of the 
water of the river of life, that flows from the throne of God, 
clear as crystal. Come, if you would obtain through those glit- 
tering gates of pearl an abundant entrance into the eternal city; 
if you would walk its streets of transparent gold; if you would 
behold its glowing foundation stones ; if you would see the King 
in his beauty on his azure throne. Come, if you would sing the 
jubilee song of millions, and share their joy. Come, if you 
would join the anthems of the redeemed with their melodious 
harps, and know that your exile is forever over, and this is your 
eternal home. Come, if you would receive a palm of victory - 
and know that you are forever free. Come, if you would ex- 
change the furrows of your care-worn brow for a jeweled crown. 
Come, if you would see the salvation of the ransomed myriads, 
the glorified throng which no man can number. Come, if you 
would drink from the pure fountain of celestial bliss, if you 
would shine as the stars forever in the firmament of glory, if 
you would share in the unutterable rapture that fills the trium- 
phant hosts as they behold before them unending ages of glory 
ever brightening and joys ever new. 

The bride does say, Come. Who of us can resist the invi- 
tation ? The word of truth is pledged to us that if we keep the 
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, we shall have 
right to the tree of life, we shall enter in through the gates into 
the city. And we shall feel that we are at home in our Father's 
house, the very mansions prepared for us, and realize the full 
truth of the cheering words, "Blessed are they which are 
called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.*' Rev. 19 : 9. 



CHAPTER 22, VERSES 18-21. 



725 



"Let him that heareth say, Come." We have heard of the 
glory, of the beauty, of the blessings, of that goodly land, and 
we say, Come. We have heard of the river with its verdant 
banks, of the tree with its healing leaves, of the ambrosial 
bowers that bloom in the Paradise of God, and we say, Come. 
Whosoever will, let him come, and take of the water of life 
freely. 

Verse 18. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the 
prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall 
add unto him the plagues that are written in this book : 19. And if any 
man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God 
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, 
and from the things that are written in this book. 

What is it to add to, or take from, the book of this proph- 
ecy ? Let it be borne in mind that it is the book of this 
prophecy, or the Revelation, which is the subject of remark; 
hence the words concerning adding to or taking from have 
exclusive reference to this book. Nothing can be called an 
addition to this book except something added to it with the 
intention of having it considered as a genuine part of the book 
of Revelation. To take from the book would be to suppress 
some portion of it. As the book of Revelation could not be 
called an addition to the book of Daniel, so if God should see 
fit to make further revelations to us by his Spirit, it would be 
no addition to the book of Revelation, unless it should claim 
to be a part of that book. 

Verse 20. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come ■ 
quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21. The grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 

The word of God is given to instruct us in reference to the 
plan of salvation. The second coming of Christ is to be the 
climax and completion of that great scheme. It is most appro- 
priate, therefore, that the book should close with the solemn 
announcement, "Surely I come quickly." Be it ours to join 
with fervent hearts in the response of the apostle, ' ' Amen. 
Even so, come, Lord Jesus." 



726 



THE REVELATION. 



Thus closes the volume of inspiration, — closes with that 
which constitutes the best of all promises, and the substance 
of the Christian's hope — the return of Christ. Then shall the 
elect be gathered, and bid a long farewell to all the ills of this 
mortal life. How rich in all that is precious to the Christian 
is this promise ! Wandering an exile in this evil world, sepa- 
rated from the few of like precious faith, he longs for the com- 
panionship of the righteous, the communion of saints. Here 
he shall obtain it: for all the good shall be gathered, not from 
one land only, but from all lands; not from one age only, but 
from ages, — the great harvest of all the good, coming up in 
long and glorious procession, while angels shout the harvest 
home, and the timbrels of heaven sound forth in joyous con- 
cert; and a song before unheard, unknown, in the universe, 
the song of the redeemed, shall add its marvelous notes of 
rapture and melody to the universal jubilee. So shall the 
saints be gathered, to be joyful in each other's presence for- 
ever and ever, — 

"While the glory of God. like a molten sea, 
Bathes the immortal company." 

This gathering has nothing in it but that which is desirable. 
The saints can but sigh and pray for it. Like Job, they cry out 
for the presence of God. Like David, they cannot be satisfied 
till they awake in his likeness. In this mortal condition we 
groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, 
but clothed upon. "We can but be " upon tiptoe" for the 
adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body. Our eyes are 
open for its visions, our ears are waiting to catch the sounds of 
the heavenly music, and our hearts are beating in anticipation 
of its infinite joy. Our appetites are growing sharp for the 
marriage supper. We cry out for the living God, and long to 
come into his presence. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. 
No news more welcome than the announcement that the com- 
mand has gone forth from the Lord to his angels, Gather 
together unto me my elect from the four winds of heaven. 

The place of gathering has nothing but attraction. Jesus, 
the fairest among ten thousand, is there. The throne of God 



CHAPTER 22, VERSES 18 # -21. 



727 



and the Lamb, in the glory of which the sun disappears as the 
stars vanish in the light of day, is there. The city of jasper 
and gold, whose builder and maker is God, is there. The 
river of life, sparkling with the glory of God and flowing from 
his throne in infinite purity and peace, is there. The tree of 
life, with its healing leaves and life-giving fruit, is there. 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I^oah, Job, and Daniel, prophets, 
apostles, and martyrs, the perfection of heavenly society, will 
be there. Visions of beauty are there; fields of living greon, 
flowers that never fade, streams that never dry, products in 
variety that never ends, fruits that never decay, crowns that 
never dim. harps that know no discord, and ail else of which 
a taste purified from sin and raised to the plane of immortalirv, 
can form any conception or think desirable, will be there. 

We must be there. We must bask in the forgiving smiles 
of God, to whom we have become reconciled, and sin no more: 
we must have access to that exhaustless fount of vitality, the 
fruit of the tree of life, and never die; we must repose under 
the shadow of its leaves, which are for the service of the 
nations, and never again grow weary ; we must drink from the 
life-giving fountain, and thirst nevermore; we must bathe in 
its silvery spray, and be refreshed; we must walk on its golden 
sands, and feel that we are no longer exiles; we must exchange 
the cross for the crown, and feel that the days of our humilia- 
tion are ended; we must lay down the staff and take the palm 
branch, and feel that the journey is done; we must put off the 
rent garments of our warfare, for the white robes of triumph, 
and feel that the conflict is ended and the victory gained : we 
must exchange the toil-worn, dusty girdle of our pilgrimage, 
for the glorious vesture of immortality, and feel that sin and 
the curse can never more pollute us. O day of rest and 
triumph, and every good, delay not thy dawning ! Let the 
angels at once be sent to gather the elect. Let the promise be 
fulfilled which bears in its train these matchless glories. 



tluert Str t Cumr, Lorri Srsus. 




I. 

RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN OUR OWN TIMES 
AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

•jf N the books both of Daniel and the Revelation distinct reference is 
If made to that abnormal national experience known as ''The French 
"» Revolution." (See Dan. 11:38-39; Rev. 11:7-10.) The time when 
the principles of irreligion and infidelity were given full opportunity to 
bud and blossom and bear fruit, that all the- world might judge of their 
nature; when men were left to show to what deeds of darkness the carnal 
heart would lead, unrestrained by any principles of righteousness and 
truth, was most appropriately noted in prophecy. And the descriptions 
given of the character of the last days by the same pen of inspiration, are 
such as to show that the masses will then fall, to a large extent, if not 
wholly, under the same principles of evil. While such is the representa- 
tion of prophecy, it is a serious question in many minds whether the pre- 
liminary stages of this condition of things are not already appearing 
before our e} T es, and if we may not now be on the threshold of one of those 
eras wherein " history repeats itself " in its worst forms. 

Those who entertain the sentiments concerning the nature of our 
times set forth in some portions of this work, are often charged with 
being pessimists, alarmists, and looking too much on the dark side of 
the picture. To the charge of being alarmists in the bad sense of that 
term, we do not plead guilt}'. While there may be such a thing as 
imagining evils which do not exist, and anticipating trouble which never 
comes, there is, on the other hand, such a thing as crying, "Peace, 
peace," when there is no peace, and shutting our eyes to real danger till 
it is too late to guard against it, and we find ourselves involved in 
irretrievable calamity and loss. The wisest of men has said, "A prudent 
man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and 
are punished." Prov. 22: 3. Noah was not an alarmist when he warned 
the world of the approaching catastrophe of the flood ; nor Lot, when he 
warned the Sodomites that an all-devastating storm of fire was hanging 
over their doomed city ; nor our Lord, when he foretold the utter destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, and gave his people directions how to escape it. Let us 
not be diverted from the real situation by the cry of "alarmist," nor 

[ 729 ] 



730 



APPENDIX. 



think that there can be no danger because all do not see it ; for St. Paul 
has warned us that "when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden 
destruction cometh upon them." 1 Thess. 5 : 3. 

But we need offer no apology for ourselves in this particular; for the 
strongest utterances we pat on record are simply those we find in the secu- 
lar press of the day. Even so cautious a paper as the Chicago Evening 
Journal, in its issue of Aug. 26, 1874, under the heading "The Reign of 
Crime," drew the following picture of the times, which no one can say 
have been growing better since that time : — 

"If Mr. Beecher used to be rather soft on the doctrine of 'total de- 
pravity,' we suspect he may have got more light on this point by this 
time. But Brooklyn does not by any means monopolize the illustrative 
evidence of it. Crimes of all sorts and sizes seem just now to be 'break- 
ing out,' like the measles, all over the body social. The newspapers, if 
they give the news at all, have to be darkened with the wretched records 
of misdoings. We confess that the dailies at the present time are not so 
cheerful reading as might be. Suicides, murder, and the whole catalogue 
of offenses against God and man, are startlingly prevalent. Is it symp- 
tomatic of some great social disease, the seeds of which have long been 
growing, but long hidden ? Is there some malign moral miasma in the 
air, some taint in the blood, some great, though subtle, popular error that 
has been silently conceiving sin, and is at last bringing forth iniquity ? 
Or is it only a kind of spiritual contagion, or epidemic, like the epizootic, 
for instance, among animals, that has somehow got started, and is sweep- 
ing across the continent ? 

"Such questions are full of significance, even if not easily answered. 
The philosophy of epidemical influences in society is better understood 
than it was a generation ago; but we suspect the subject is far from being 
cleared up yet. We need more light, both as to the incipient causes and 
the concomitant conditions which allow such alarming potency to causes 
that seemed to be latent, until, all at once, they break forth, as if thou- 
sands had suddenly taken to the habit of carrying loose powder and 
matches in the same pocket. ' As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.' 
Is it, then, that somehow communities get to thinking of the same ill 
things, and the bad thought becomes a tempting suggestion, and forthwith 
begins to work in the heart like a spark in an old-fashioned tinder-box ? 
If so, one scarcely dares to think of the frightful consequences that may 
come of this Brooklyn scandal-sowing throughout the land." 

While this extract speaks of our own land, there is testimony to show 
that an equally alarming state of things prevails in Europe. As a repre- 
sentative statement upon this point, we quote from the distinguished and 
devoted J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, author of the History of the Refor- 
mation, who, just previous to his death, prepared a paper for the Evan- - 
gelical Alliance, which was read at a meeting of that association. All 
thoughtful persons will consider his words most solemn, and his statements 
as startling as they are true : — 

" If the meeting for which you are assembled is an important one, the 
period at which it is held is equally so, not only on account of the great 
things which (iod is accomplishing in the world, but also by reason of the 



APPENDIX. 



731 



great evils which the spirit of darkness is spreading throughout Christen- 
dom. The despotic and arrogant pretensions of Rome have reached in 
our days their highest pitch, and we are consequently more than ever 
called upon to contend against that power which dares to usurp the divine 
attributes. But that is not all. While superstition has increased, unbe- 
lief has done so still more. Until now, the eighteenth century — the age 
of Voltaire — was regarded as the epoch of most decided infidelity; but 
how far does the present time surpass it in this respect ! Voltaire himself 
protested against the philosophy which he called atheistic, and said, 'God 
is necessarily the Great, the Only, the Eternal Artificer of all nature ' 
(Dialogues, xxv). B.ut the pretended philosophers of our day leave such 
ideas far behind, and regard them as antiquated superstitions. Material- 
ism and atheism have, in many minds, taken the place of the true God. 
Science, which was Christian in the brightest intellects of former days, 
in those to whom we owe the greatest discoveries, has become atheistic 
among men who now talk the loudest. They imagine that by means of 
general laws which govern the physical world, they can do without Him 
from whom these laws proceeded. Some remains of animals found in 
ancient strata of our globe, make them reject the creation of which the 
Bible inaugurates the account in these solemn words : ' In the beginning 
God created the heaven and the earth.' 

"Eminent literary men continually put forward in their writings 
what is called Positivism, rejecting everything that goes beyond the limit 
of the senses, and disdaining all that is supernatural. These evils, which 
had formerly only reached the upper ranks of society, have now spread to 
the working classes, and some among them may be heard to say, ' When 
man is dead, all is dead.' But there is a still sadder feature of our times. 
Unbelief has reached even the ministry of the word. Pastors belonging 
to Protestant churches in France, Switzerland, German} 7 , and other con- 
tinental countries, not only reject the fundamental doctrines of the faith, 
but also deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and see in him nothing- 
more than a man, who, according to many of them, was even subject to 
errors and faults. A synod of the Reformed Church in Holland has lately 
decreed that when a minister baptizes, he need not do it in the name of 
the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. A journal, when relating 
this fact, adds, ' Will they then baptize in the God abyss? ' At an impor- 
tant assembly held lately in German Switzerland, at which were present 
many men of position both in the church and the state, the basis of the 
new religion was laid down. 'No doctrines,' was the watchword on that 
occasion. 'No new doctrines, whatever they may be, in place of the old; 
liberty alone,' which means liberty to overthrow everything. And too 
truly some of those ministers believe neither in a personal God nor in the 
immortality of the soul. For a portion of the European population there 
is no other gospel than that of Spinoza, and often much less even than 
that." 

Such words from such a source should cause the most thoughtless to 
pause and consider. Mark the expressions : The spirit of darkness spread- 
ing through Christendom, superstition and unbelief increasing, the pres- 
ent age far surpassing that of Voltaire in infidelity, atheism taking the 



732 



APPENDIX. 



place of God. science becoming atheistic, eminent literary men teaching 
Positivism ; the masses becoming pervaded with these ideas, and even 
Protestant ministers denying the fundamental facts of the gospel, — these 
are the prominent features of the times. 

Professor J. Cairus, D. D., of Berwick, England, draws the following 
picture of the present generation: "The advance, so rapid and wonder- 
ful, of science and art, and the progress of education and the diffusion 
of literature ; the self-assertion, by long-oppressed nationalities, of their 
rights and liberties : the approximation to a commercial and political 
unity of the human race, — all tend to foster the idea of man's inherent 
capacity, and to set afloat wild and chimerical schemes and hopes of 
moral regeneration, irrespective of Christianity. The dream of inde- 
pendent morality finds countenance. Theories of spiritual development, 
more exaggerated and fictitious by far than these of physical develop- 
ment, are accepted. The march of intelligence, or the revolutionary 
impulse, is to make all things new. Meanwhile, the sad and humbling 
aspects of the nineteenth century — its hideous vices and crimes, its lux- 
ury, selfishness, and greed set over against pauperism, debasement, and 
discontent ; its wars and international feuds, with ever-increasing con- 
scriptions and standing armies — are overlooked. " 

Hon. Geo. H. Stuart, of Philadelphia, thus spoke before the Alliance : 
"The field is the world. It has in it 1,300,000.000 immortal souls, des- 
tined to meet us at the Judgment bar of God. Of these 1,300,000,000, 
there are some 800,000,000 bowing down to stocks and stones, the work- 
manship of their own hands. Besides these 800,000,000 heathen, there 
are 110.000,000 Mohammedans and 240,000,000 of other false systems of 
religion, leaving only 100.000,000 nominal Protestants. It is not for us 
to say how many of these 100,000,000 are true disciples of our risen and 
exalted Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 

Sad, indeed, is the view here presented : and is it not every year 
growing worse ? Students of prophecy are sometimes looked upon as 
fanatics, because they believe that the second advent of Christ is soon to 
take place, when all the wicked will be destroyed and the righteous saved. 
But we ask the candid reader whether the man, who. in the face of all the 
facts above stated, believes in the speedy conversion of the whole world 
and the near approach of the millennium, may not more justly be 
regarded as a fanatic. While a few thousand pagans in heathen lands are 
receiving the gospel, millions in Christian lands are turning away from 
it, and embracing socialism, infidelity, and atheism: and among these we 
find the educated, the scientific, and so-called higher classes taking the 
lead. But this need not surprise us ; for Jesus himself said respecting the 
last days, "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find 
faith on the earth ? " Luke 18 : 8. 

From this general description, let us come to particulars. Every stu- 
dent of history understands that like causes produce like effects, and that 
indications which foretokened the occurrence of certain events in one age. 
will generally reappear when similar events are about to transpire in any 
other age. As in the natural world there must be the gathering of clouds 
and the accumulation of electricitj 7 before the storm, so in the moral and 



APPENDIX. 



733 



political world there must be the dissemination of principles, the formu- 
lation of ideas, and the rousing of passions, before the revolution. Causes 
which in the past have led to anarchy, rapine, license, and a general 
disintegration of society, will, if permitted to operate, produce again the 
same results. The French Revolution of 1789-1800 stands fixed in history 
as the 4i Reign of Terror."' Each succeeding faction which gained power 
during that awful era shed in torrents the blood of its enemies, until over 
2.000,000 lives were sacrificed. All social order was destroyed. The 
marriage covenant was abrogated, and lust stalked abroad everywhere, 
licensed and unrestrained. Christ was declared an impostor, and his 
religion a fraud. The existence of God was denied, and the reading of 
his word forbidden. All this was the work of infidelity. Behold, there- 
fore, in that terrible Revolution, the miniature of the world without the 
restraining influence of God's revelation. And is there danger that this 
frightful condition of things may be reproduced in our own day ? Facts 
constrain us to answer in the affirmative: for the same causes are opera- 
ting everywhere to-day which a hundred years ago were at work in 
France. The same names and principles may be he-ard and seen all about 
us. Let us first notice some of the more prominent elements which pro- 
duced the French Revolution. 

1. Spiritualism. — Says Samuel Smucker in his Memorable Scenes in 
French History, p. 116: J l ~We find in the records of that period, mate- 
rials and events which prove that then it was that the impostures of 
modern spiritual rappers and mediums were first practiced, in precisely 
the same way and for the same results as they are at the present day. 
. . . Count Cagliostro enabled Cardinal Rohan to sup with the deceased 
D 'Alembert. with the king of Prussia, and with Voltaire, all dead some 
years before. He convinced His Eminence that the worker of these won- 
ders had himself been present with Christ at the marriage in Cana of 
Galilee. ... In the triumphs of Cagliostro. of Misner, and of St. Ger- 
main, which at this period were at their greatest hight, we behold another 
instance of the uprooting of the firm and stable foundations of society in 
an excessive desire for novelties, and a restless itching after things new, 
mysterious, and wonderful." 

As a system of pretended communication with the dead, Spiritualism 
is as old, at least, as the Mosaic dispensation, for it was strictly forbidden 
in his day ; and it has at favorable epochs manifested itself among men ; 
but its wonder-working phase is peculiar to modern times, and first mani- 
fested itself in this country, according to the prophecy of Revelation 13. 
Its principles and spirit found congenial soil in France in the Revolution. 
But if what then appeared contributed in any manner to produce the 
state of society which then existed, what must be its tendency to-day ? 

2. In fidelity . — Mr. Anderson, in The Annals of the English Bible, 
p. 494, says: "Never let it be forgotten that before the Revolution of 
1792, the promoters of infidelity in France are stated to have raised 
among themselves, and spent, a sum equal to £900.000 in one year, — 
nay, again and again. — in purchasing, printing, and dispersing books 
to corrupt the minds of the people and prepare them for desperate 
measures." 



734 



APPENDIX. 



Dr. Dick, in his work on The Improvement of Society, p. 154, 
says: "The way for such a revolution was prepared by the writings of 
Voltaire, Mirabeau, Diderot, H-elvetius, D 'Alembert, Condorcet, Rous- 
seau, and others of the same stamp, in which they endeavored to dissemi- 
nate principles subversive both of natural and revealed religion. Reve- 
lation was not only impugned, but entirely set aside. The Deity was 
banished from the universe, and an imaginary phantom, under the name 
of the Goddess of Reason, substituted in his place. The carved work of 
all religious belief and moral practice was boldly cut down by Carnot and 
Robespierre and their atheistical associates. Nature was investigated by 
pretended philosophers, only with the view to darken the mind, and pre- 
vent mankind from considering anything as real but what the hand could 
grasp or the corporeal eye perceive." 

The infidelity of to-day, in many respects, according to the quotation 
from D'Aubigne, leaves that of France at the time of the Revolution, far 
behind. 

3. Socialism. — Webster makes this word s}-nonymous with "commun- 
ism," which he defines as follows : "The reorganizing of society, or the 
doctrine that it should be reorganized, by regulating property, industry, 
and the sources of livelihood, and also the domestic relations and social 
morals of mankind ; socialism, especially the doctrine of a community of 
property, or the negation of individual rights in property." 

These principles were carried into practice in France, and as the re- 
sult the Revolution blossomed into all its horrid reality. The relations of 
the different classes of society were completely changed. The monarchy 
was overthrown, and an infidel republic established on its ruins. The 
king and queen were beheaded. 

Alison, Vol. IV, p. 151, says : " The confiscation of two thirds of the 
landed property in the kingdom, which arose from the decrees of the con- 
vention against the emigrants, clergy, and persons convicted at the revo- 
lutionary tribunals, . . . placed funds worth above £700,000,000 sterling 
at the disposal of the government." 

Titles of nobility were abolished. It was a conflict between the rich 
and the poor, between capital and labor. The motto of the Revolution 
was, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity " — blessed words, but, with the 
strangest inconsistency, wholly outraged and misapplied. The same prin- 
ciples are treated in the same way to-day, and are shouted as the watch- 
word among the discontented masses and the labor organizations the 
world over. The principles of socialism, or communism, were probably 
never so widely diffused as at the present time. 

4. Free Love. — When the existence of the true God was denied, as it 
was during the French Revolution, and in his place men set up a lewd 
woman as the Goddess of Reason, and the object of their highest ado- 
ration, it was a natural consequence that the sacredness of the marriage 
relation should be wholly discarded. Marriage was therefore declared a 
civil contract, binding only during the pleasure of the contracting parties. 
Divorce became general, and the corruption of manners reached a hight 
never before known in France. One half of the whole number of births 
in Paris was illegitimate. See Thiers's French Revolution, Vol. II, p. 380. 



APPENDIX. 



735 



Free-loveism is an integral part of the spiritualistic movement of our day, 
not so openly advocated as formerly, but none the less cherished and prac- 
ticed as a part of the boasted "freedom" to which the human race is 
attaining. 

5. The Commune. — This word is derived from a small territorial dis- 
trict in France governed by an officer called a mayor. It has come to 
have a much more extensive application at the present time ; but the ori- 
gin of the word is not so important as the principles which it is taken to 
represent. Of these we have already had a definition from Webster, and 
seen a practical illustration in the French Revolution. Thiers's French 
Revolution, Vol. Ill, p. 106, gives the whole number of persons guillotined 
during the reign of terror as 1,022,351, besides massacres of other kinds in 
other places, in some of which the population of whole towns perished. 
Dr. Dick, in his Improvement of Society, p. 154, says : "Such was the 
rapidity with which the work of destruction was carried on, that within 
the short space of ten years not less than three million human be- 
ings . . . are supposed to have perished in that country alone, chiefly 
through the influence of immoral principles, and the seductions of a false 
philosophy." 

In connection with this, as showing the tendency of the times, may 
be mentioned the "International," an association which, not long since, 
was prominent and created a good deal of apprehension. The object of 
its members was to overthrow those whom they esteemed their enemies, 
namely, kings and capitalists. Its platform was, briefly, the abolition of 
all class rule and privileges ; political and social equality of both sexes ; 
nationalization of land and instruments of production ; reduction of 
hours of labor ; education to be controlled by the state, and to be obliga- 
tory, gratuitous, and secular ; religion to be ignored ; a direct system 
of taxation based upon property, not upon industry; the abolition 
of all standing armies ; and associative production instead of capitalist 
production. 

It will be seen at once that to put these principles into practice would 
be completely to change the present political and social relations of society. 
The different branches of this revolutionary bod} 7 may now go by different 
names, as Nihilists in Russia, Communists in Germany, Anarchists and 
Monarchists in France, Fenians and Land-Leaguers in Ireland, the differ- 
ent secret labor organizations in this country, and Socialists everywhere. 
The principles involved are similar in all their divisions; the end sought, 
the same; and in the natural order of things, a great crisis in respect to 
these movements is inevitable. 

The impress of the satanic hand is clearly seen in that the state of 
society sought for is exactly the opposite of that established by God in the 
garden of Eden. There God was supreme; Christ, by whom God made 
all things, was recognized and honored; God's law was the governing 
rule; a spirit of true worship, prompted by love, controlled man's mind; 
the marriage relation was sacred; and the Sabbath was honored as God's 
great memorial. In the French Revolution, God was dethroned, Christ 
crucified afresh, Christianity denounced, all restraint broken off from the 
carnal heart, worship discarded, the rest-day abolished, the marriage 



736 



APPENDIX. 



relation annulled, and society rent into mournful fragments. Let Com- 
munism prevail, and such is the state of society we shall have again. 

The fruit of this agitation is appearing more and more in the strained 
relation between labor and capital, all the time growing greater, the mul- 
tiplication of "orders" among the working men, and the combination of 
capital for self-protection, the great strikes and mobs of 1893-95, necessi- 
tating even armed intervention on the part of the government. Suspicion 
and mistrust eveiy where prevail; and " What are we coming to ? " is the 
question that trembles on many a lip. Truly, as our Lord said it would 
be just before his coming, "men's hearts" are "failing them for fear, 
and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.'" 
Luke 21 : 26-. 



II. 

THE "SEVEN TIMES" OF LEVITICUS 26. 

_/^<pLMOST every scheme of the "Plan of the Ages," "Age-to-come," 
etc., makes use of a supposed prophetic period called the "Seven 
Times; " and the attempt is made to figure out a remarkable ful- 
filment by events in Jewish and Gentile history. All such speculators 
might as well spare their pains ; for there is no such prophetic period in 
the Bible. 

The term is taken from Leviticus 26, where the Lord denounces judg- 
ments against the Jews, if they shall forsake him. After mentioning a 
long list of calamities down to verse 17, the Lord says : " And if ye will 
not yet for all' this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times 
more for your sins. " Verse 18. Verses 19 and 20 enumerate the additional 
judgments, then it is added in verse 21 : " And if ye walk contrary unto 
me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues 
upon you according to your sins." More judgments are enumerated, and 
then in verses 23 and 24 the threatening is repeated : " And if ye will not 
be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrar}^ unto me; then 
will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times 
for your sins." In verse 28 it is repeated again. 

Thus the expression occurs four times, and each succeeding mention 
brings to view severer punishments, because the preceding ones were not 
heeded. Now, if " seven times " denotes a- prophetic period (2520 years), 
then we would have four of them, amounting in all to 10,080 years, which 
would be rather a long time to keep a nation under chastisement. 

But we need borrow no trouble on this score; for the expression 
"seven times" does not denote a period of duration, but is simply an 
adverb expressing degree, and setting forth the severity of the judgments 
to be brought upon Israel. 



APPENDIX. 737 

If it denoted a period of time, a noun and its adjective would be used, 
as in Dan. 4: 16 : "Let seven times pass over him." Here we have the 
noun (times) and adjective (seven); thus, (shibah iddan); but 

in the passages quoted above from Leviticus 26, the words "seven times" 
are simply the adverb yT& (sheba), which means, "sevenfold." The 
Septuagint makes the same distinction, using in Dan. 4:16, etc., enra 
Kaipoi but in Leviticus simply the adverb, e-n-raKig. 

The expression in Dan. 4 : 16 is not prophetic, for it is used in plain, 
literal narration. (See verse 25.) 



in. 

THE TEN DIVISIONS OF ROME. 

(<fp#HE ten kingdoms which arose out of the old Roman empire, are 
Mf^ r symbolized by the ten horns on the fourth beast of Daniel 7. All 
^ agree on this point; but there has not been entire unanimity among 
expositors as to the names of the kingdoms which constituted these divi- 
sions. Some name the Huns as one of these divisions, others put the 
Alemanni in place of the Huns. That the reader may see the general 
trend of what has been written on this subject, the following facts are 
presented : — 

Machiavelli, the historian of Florence, writing simply as a historian, 
names the Huns as one of the nations principally concerned in the break- 
ing up of the Roman empire. Among those who have written on this 
point with reference to the prophecy, may be mentioned, Berengaud, in 
the ninth century; Mede, 1586-1638; Bossuet, 1627-1704; Lloyd, 1627-1717; 

Sir Isaac Newton, 1642-1727; Bishop Newton, 1704-1782; Hales, 1821; 

Faber, 1773-1854. 

Of these nine authorities, eight take the position that the Huns were 
one of the ten kingdoms; of these eight, two, Bossuet and Bishop Newton, 
followed by Dr. Clarke, have both the Huns and the Alemanni; only one, 
Mede, omits the Huns and takes the Alemanni. Thus eight favor the 
view that the Huns were represented by one of the horns; two, while not 
rejecting the Huns, consider the Alemanni one of the horns; one rejects 
the Huns and takes the Alemanni. Scott and Barnes, in their commen- 
taries, and Oswald, in his Kingdom that Shall not be Moved, name the 
Huns. 

47 



738 



APPENDIX. 



IT. 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

PROMINENT MARTYRS. 

[For portraits, see page 138.] 

John de Wycliffe, born about 1324, styled the "Morning Star of 
the Reformation," was an English divine, whose piety and talents pro- 
cured him one of the highest ecclesiastical positions of honor. Having 
openly preached against the corruptions of the Roman Church, he was 
displaced, the pope issuing several bulls against him for heresy. Accord- 
ingly, he was examined by an assembly, but made so able a defense that 
it ended without determination. Continuing to denounce papal corrup- 
tions, ordinances, and power, he was again summoned before a synod, but 
was released by order of the king's mother. It is remarkable that although 
he continued his vehement attacks upon vital points of Romish doctrine, 
he escaped the fate of others similarly accused; but over forty years after 
his death, which occurred in 1384, his bones were exhumed, burned, and 
cast into the River Swift, which bore them through the Severn to the sea, 
his very dust thus becoming emblematic of his doctrine, now diffused the 
world over. His most important work was the first English version of the 
Bible. 

John Huss, the celebrated reformer, was a native of Bohemia, born 
in 1370, and educated at the university at Prague, where he received the 
degree of master of arts, and became rector of the University and con- 
fessor to the Queen. Obtaining some of the writings of Wycliffe, he saw 
the errors and corruption of the Romish Church, which he freely exposed, 
though persecuted by several popes. By his teaching, a reformation began 
in the University, to check which the archbishop issued two decrees; but 
the new doctrine spreading still more, he was finally brought before a coun- 
cil, thrown into prison, and after some months' confinement, sentenced to 
be burned. Though urged at the stake to recant, he firmly refused, and 
until stifled with smoke, continued to pray and to sing with a clear voice. 
He was burned in 1415, and his ashes, and even the soil on which they lay, 
were carefully removed, and thrown into the Rhine. 

Jerome of Prague, who derived his surname from the town where he 
was born somewhere between 1360 and 1370, completed his studies at the 
university of the same name, after which he traveled over the greater 
part of Europe. At Paris he received the degree of master of arts, and at 
Oxford he became acquainted with the writings of Wycliffe, translating 
many of them into his own language. On his return to Prague, he openly 
professed Wycliffe's doctrines, and assisted Huss in the work of the 
Reformation. Upon the arrest of the latter, he also expressed his willing- 



APPENDIX. 



739 



ness to appear before the council in defense of his faith, and desired a 
safe-conduct of the emperor. This was not granted, but on his way home 
he was seized, carried to Constance, and after the martyrdom of Huss, 
threatened with like torments. In a moment of weakness, he abjured the 
faith; but on being released, bemoaned his sin, and publicly renounced 
his recantation, for which he was consigned to the flames, 1416. 

William Tyndale, an eminent English divine, was born about 1484. 
He received an ample education at Cambridge and Oxford, and took holy 
orders. Embracing the doctrines of the Reformation, he excited so much 
enmity among Romanists by his zeal and ability in expounding them, 
that he was compelled to seek refuge in Germany. Believing that the 
Scriptures should be read by the masses in the vernacular, he produced 
a complete version of the New Testament in English, which, though 
ordered to be suppressed, was in such demand that six editions were 
published. This version was also the model and basis of that of King 
James, and is but little more obsolete. He also translated the Pentateuch. 
For these and other reformatory writings, he was arrested at Antwerp at 
the instigation of the English government, and after eighteen months' 
imprisonment, was burned, first being strangled by the hangman, 1536. 

Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury, 
was born in 1489. Although saintly in his professions as a divine, he was 
somewhat politic as a statesman, and thus was well suited to unite the 
religious and worldly enemies of popery. He was also a servile adherent 
of Henry VIII. After the death of the latter, he joined the upholders of 
Lady Jane Grey, who was also a Protestant, and was accordingly sent to 
the Tower on the accession of Mary; and being accused of heresy by the 
papal party, was burned at Oxford, 1556. As a reformer, he introduced 
the Bible into the churches, and so used his influence as a regent of 
Edward VI that the Reformation greatly prospered during the young 
monarch's reign. Shortly before his martyrdom, he signed a recantation 
contrary to his convictions, in hope of life; but at the stake he was more 
courageous, first thrusting into the flames the hand which signed the 
document, exclaiming man3 r times, " O my unworthy right hand!" 

Hugh Latimer, born about 1490, one of the chief promoters of the 
Reformation in England, was educated at Cambridge, receiving the degree 
of master of arts. At the beginning of the Reformation, he was a zealous 
papist; but after conversing with the martyr Bilney, he renounced the 
Catholic faith, and labored earnestly in preaching the gospel. Henry 
VIII, being pleased with his discourses, made him bishop of Worcester; 
but being opposed to some of the king's measures, Latimer finally 
resigned. After the death of his patron, Cromwell, the latter's enemies 
sought him out, and he was sent to the Tower. He was released by 
Edward VI, but refused to be restored to his diocese, and remained with 
Cranmer, assisting in the Reformation. When Mary came to the throne, 
he-was again sent to the Tower, thence with Cranmer and Ridley to dis- 
pute with popish bishops at Oxford. Here he argued with unusual clear- 
ness and simplicity, but was condemned and burned at the same stake 
with Ridley, 1555. 



740 



APPENDIX. 



John Bradford was born in the first part of the reign of Henry VIII. 
He early evinced a taste for learning, and began the study of law; but 
finding theology more congenial, removed to Cambridge University, 
where his ability and piety won for him. in less than a year, the degree 
of master of arts. Soon after, he was made chaplain to Edward VI, and 
became one of the most popular preachers of Protestantism in the king- 
dom. But after the accession of that rigid Catholic, Mary, he was arrested 
on the charge of heresy, and confined in the Tower a year and a half, 
during which time he aided with his pen the cause for which he suffered. 
When finally brought to trial, he defended his principles to the last, with- 
standing all attempts to effect his conversion to Romanism. He was con- 
demned, and committed to the flames in 1555. He died, rejoicing thus to 
be able to suffer for the truth. 

Nicholas Ridley, a learned English bishop and martyr, educated at 
Pembroke College, Cambridge, was born about 1500. His great abilities 
and piety recommended him to the notice of Archbishop Cranmer, 
through whom he was made chaplain to the king. In the reign of 
Edward VI, he was nominated to the see of Rochester, and finally to the 
bishopric of London. By his influence with the young king, the priories 
and revenues devoted to the maintenance of corrupt friars and monks 
were used for charitable purposes. On the decease of Edward, he em- 
braced the cause of Lady Jane Grey, and in a sermon warned the people 
of the evil that would befall Protestantism if Mary should come to the 
throne. ' For this, and for his zeal in aiding the Reformation, he was 
seized by Queen Mary, sent to Oxford to dispute with some of the popish 
bishops, and on his refusing to recant, was burned with Latimer, 1555. 

John Hooper was born about 1495, and was educated at Oxford. 
After taking his degree of bachelor of arts, he joined the Cistercian 
monks, but his attention being directed to the writings of Zwingli, after 
a diligent study of the Scriptures, he became a zealous advocate of the 
Reformation. Knowing the danger to which his opinions exposed him, 
he went to France. On his return to England, he found that plots were 
again being laid against hisdife, and escaped to Ireland, thence to France, 
and finally to Germany, where he remained some years. Again returning 
to England, he applied himself to instruct the masses, laboring so suc- 
cessfully that the king, Edward VI, requested him to remain in London 
to further the Reformation, and created him bishop of Worcester. On 
the accession of Mary, however, he was immediately arrested, sent to the 
Fleet-prison, and, after eighteen months' confinement, was tried for 
heres} T , and condemned to the flames in 1555. He endured the agonies 
of the stake with great fortitude, though they were unusually protracted 
on account of the use of green wood. 

John Rogers, the first of the many who were martj T red during Queen 
Mary's reign, was born about 1500. He was educated at Cambridge, 
receiving holy orders, and was afterward chaplain to the English factory 
at Antwerp, where he became acquainted with Tyndale and Coverdale, and 
by their aid published a complete English version of the Bible. Remov- 
ing to Wittenberg, he became pastor of a Dutch congregation ; but when 



APPENDIX. 



741 



Edward VI came to the throne, he was invited home, and made preben- 
dary and divinity reader of St. Paul's. On the Sunday after Queen Mary's 
accession, in a sermon at St. Paul's, he exhorted the people to adhere to 
the doctrines taught in King Edward's days, and to resist all Catholic 
forms and dogmas. For this he was summoned before the council, but 
vindicated himself so well that he was dismissed. This not pleasing 
Mary, he was again summoned, and ordered to remain a prisoner in his 
own house ; but he was soon after seized, and sent to Newgate. He was 
then tried and condemned, and refusing to recant, was burned, 1555. 



EMINENT REFORMERS. 

[For portraits, see page 518,] 

Martin Luther, the greatest of reformers, was born in Saxony, in 
1483. When a poor boy, a benevolent lady took him in charge to educate. 
At first he studied law, but a narrow escape from death so affected him 
with the uncertainty of life that he retired to a monastery. Here he 
came in possession of a Bible, and was struck with the difference between 
the teachings of the gospel and the practices of the Romish Church. 
Being sent on an errand to Rome, the impression was deepened, and when 
the pope issued his famous bull granting the sale of indulgences, Luther, 
who was then professor of divinity in the University of Wittenberg, was 
prepared to oppose it, which he did so ably that multitudes, including 
many nobles, upheld him. He was ordered to appear at Rome, but re- 
fused. The pope issued a condemnation, which Luther burned. At the 
Diet of Worms he refused to retract, and soon spread his views through- 
out the kingdom by his writings. He also translated the Bible into Ger- 
man. A decree being passed that the mass should be universally observed, 
a protest was issued by the reformed party, from which they received the 
name of Protestants. The confession of Augsburg, the standard of their 
faith, was then drawn up. He still kept on writing and laboring until he 
died, worn out by excessive toil, in 1546. 

Philip Melanchthon, the famous reformer and friend of Luther, was 
born in the grand duchy of Baden in 1497. At the age of seventeen he 
graduated as master of arts from the university at Heidelberg, and soon 
after obtained the Greek professorship at Wittenberg. Here he formed 
a friendship with Luther, whose opinions he accepted, and defended in his 
lectures and writings. His prudence aided the promulgation of Protestant 
doctrines greatty, as it guarded them from the abuses of intemperate 
zeal. His greatest work was the drawing up of the Augsburg Confes- 
sion, although he was a fluent writer, and was the author of the first sys- 
tem of Protestant theology, which passed through more than fifty editions, 
and was used as a text-book in the universities. His learning and mod- 
eration became famous throughout all Europe, and the kings of England 
and France invited him to their kingdoms ; but he preferred to remain at 
Wittenberg, where he died in 1560. 



742 



APPENDIX. 



Ulric Zwingli, whose name in the annals of Protestant reformers 
ranks second only to that of Luther, was born in 1484. As he early 
evinced a taste for study, he was sent first to Bale and Berne, and finally 
to the university at Vienna, to receive an education. On his return he 
was pastor of a large parish near his birthplace, and afterward preacher 
to the cathedral church at Zurich. Here he made a special study of the 
Scriptures, committing to memory the whole of the New and part of the 
Old Testament. His theological researches led him to see the corruptions 
of the Romish Church, and he commenced declaiming against them, espe- 
cially against papal indulgences, until he effected the same separation 
for Switzerland from the Catholic dominion, that Luther did for Saxony. 
These religious dissensions brought on a civil war in Switzerland, and 
Zwingli, who accompanied his army as chaplain, was slain on the field 
of battle, 1531. 

John Calvin, an eminent reformer, and founder of the religious sect 
known as Calvinists, was born in 1509. He was early destined for the 
church, being presented with a benefice when only twelve years old. He 
was educated at Paris for the ministry ; but becoming dissatisfied with 
the tenets of the Romish Church, he turned his attention to the law. He 
soon received the seeds of the reformed doctrine, and so strongly defended 
them that he was obliged to leave France. He retired to Bale, Switzer- 
land, where he composed his famous Institutes of Christianity, which 
was translated into several languages. He then settled at Geneva as 
minister and professor of divinity, but was compelled to leave for refusing 
to obey some papal forms. Going to Strasburg, he raised up a French 
church, where he officiated. By the divines of this town he was sent as 
deputy to the Diet of Worms. He returned to Geneva after repeated 
solicitation, and was actively engaged as speaker and writer in the inter- 
ests of the Reformation, until his death in 1564. 

John Knox, the celebrated Scotch reformer, was born in 1505, and 
was educated at St. Andrew's University. He received a priest's orders, 
but renounced popery after reading the writings of St. Augustine and 
Jerome. He was accused of heresy, and his public confession of faith 
condemned ; but he began to preach it openly from the pulpit, and the 
reformed doctrines spread rapidly. St. Andrew's being taken by a 
French fleet, he was carried to Rouen, and condemned to the galleys, 
where he remained nineteen months. After his liberation, he went to 
England, and was made chaplain to Edward VI, having refused a bish- 
opric. On Mary's accession, he went to Frankfort and preached to the 
English exiles. Thence he went to Geneva, where he was much esteemed 
by Calvin, to whose doctrines he was much attached. He returned to 
Scotland, where he died in 1572, after rendering the Reformation tri- 
umphant in his native land. 

John Bunyan, the most popular religious writer in the English 
language, was born in 1028. He was a tinker by trade, and therefore 
received but a meager education. His mind was little drawn toward 
religious matters until his enlistment as a soldier, during which one of 
his comrades, who had taken his post, was killed. This he looked upon 



APPENDIX. 



743 



as a direct interposition of Providence, and after his return home, became 
deeply concerned in his spiritual welfare. He soon joined the Baptist 
Church, and from an exhorter, became a successful preacher among them. 
At this time all dissenters from the Church of England were punished, 
and Bunyan was thrown into jail, where he remained twelve years. Here 
he wrote the world-renowned Pilgrim's Progress, which has since been 
translated into every tongue of Christendom. He was also the author of 
other religious writings, such as the Holy War. At the close of the 
persecution he was released. He soon resumed his former labors, and 
was popularly known as Bishop Bunyan. His death, in 1688, resulted 
from exposure. 

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was born in 1703, and was 
educated at Oxford, becoming an eminent tutor in Lincoln College. With 
his brother and a few others, he formed a society for mutual edification 
in theological exercises, and they rigidly occupied themselves in religious 
duties, in fasting and prayer, and visiting prisons and relieving the suffer- 
ing. At the solicitation of General Oglethorpe, Wesley accompanied him 
to Georgia with a view of converting the Indians. He finally returned to 
England to engage in missionary labors, but his design was not to with- 
draw from the established Church of England, but to create a revival 
among the neglected classes by preaching salvation through simple faith 
in Christ. However, the churches being shut against him, he held open- 
air services, obtaining so many converts that organization became neces- 
sary, and spacious churches were built. Until his death in 1791, he was 
indefatigable in his self-imposed work, which he carried through Eng- 
land, Scotland, and Ireland, traveling nearly 300,000 miles, and preaching 
over 40,000 sermons, besides being a voluminous writer. 

George Whitefield, an English clergyman, born in 1714, was edu- 
cated at Oxford, where he received the degree of B. A., and where he be- 
came acquainted with Charles Wesley, and was an enthusiastic member 
of the club which gave rise to Methodism. He was soon ordained, and 
commenced his remarkable missionary career. Upon the urgent invita- 
tion of John Wesley, who was in Georgia, he embarked for America, but 
soon returned to solicit funds for a proposed orphan asylum. He made 
five subsequent visits to America, preaching in all the large cities, also in 
those of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and made a journey to Holland. 
He met with great opposition from the clergy, and being shut out of the 
churches, was the first to introduce open-air services. Having differed 
from the Wesleys in some belief, they finally separated, which gave rise 
to the two classes, Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. He still con- 
tinued his laborious efforts, sometimes speaking three and four times a 
day for weeks, until his death, in 1770, at Newburyport, Mass., while pre- 
paring for a seventh missionary tour in America. 

John Fletcher was born in Switzerland, in 1729. He was of noble 
birth, and was educated at the university of Geneva. Not conforming 
conscientiously to all the Calvinistic doctrines, he forsook the clerical pro- 
fession, and entered military service. Peace being proclaimed, he went 
to England as a tutor. He joined the Methodist society, and received 



744 



APPENDIX. 



orders from the Church of England. Though presented with a good 
living, he declined, saying "that it afforded too much money for too 
little work." The poor and suffering were his charge, and in a region of 
mines and mountains, midst opposition and persecution, he labored with 
charity and devotion. He visited France. Switzerland, and Italy, and on 
his return was president of a theological school, but his advocacy of 
Wesleyanism sundered the connection. He afterward devoted his life to 
parishional duties, making long missionary journeys with Wesley and 
Whitefield, and to the preparation in writing of their peculiar doctrines. 
His death occurred in 1785. 

William Miller, the greatest reformer of modern times, born in Mas- 
sachusetts in 1782, was of poor but honorable parentage. Having a thirst 
for knowledge, he acquired considerable education by his own exertions. 
He served in the war of 1812, and was promoted to the rank of captain. 
Until 1816 he favored infidelity; but a careful study of the Bible for the 
purpose of refuting Christianity convinced him of his error, and opened 
to the world the then almost unexplored fields of prophecy. After much 
solicitation, he began his life work, — the promulgation of the prophetic 
interpretations, especially in regard to the second advent, thus insepara- 
bly connecting himself with the great religious movement of 1844. The 
, message soon became so wide-spread that invitations came from all the 
principal cities of the United States, as many as possible of which he 
answered; and a revival such as had never been known sprang up in every 
denomination, extending even to Europe. Though disappointed in the 
time of the second advent, by a misapplication of prophecy, the majority 
of his views proved themselves to be correct, and introduced a new era in 
the never-ending work of reformation. He devoted himself to the work 
which he had begun, both lecturing and writing, until his peaceful death 
in 1849. 



i INDEX OF AUTHORS 8 



AND AUTHORITIES REFERRED TO OR QUOTED IN 
THIS WORK. 



Page. 

Arnold, Edwin 99 

Advent Shield. . . 194, 195, 212 

Advent Herald 206, 592 

Advent Manual 259 

Andrews, S. J 202 

Alison 272 

Allgemeine Zeitung 288 

Andrews, J. N 339,596 

Adams, Dr 419, 422 

Atkins, Robert 666 

Al ford (New Testament) 721 

A Presbyterian pastor, Ireland 614 

American Tract Society 419 

Boothroyd 120, 265 

Barnes, Albert 128 

129, 137, 212, 330, 396, 403, 411, 458, 461, 652 

Bower .....131, 133, 526 

Baronius 134 

Buck 138, 353, 413 

Bagster 217 

Bellarmine, Cardinal 139 

Blackwood's Magazine 266 

Boston Journal 283 

Bonaparte, Napoleon 286 

Burr, E. F., D. D 304 

Bloomfleld 330, 341, 389, 392 

Blunt, H . 357 

Benson... 346, 393 

Bingham, Hon. J. A.. 538 

Beecher, Charles. 547, 688 

Banner of Light 547 

Blanchard, Professor 565 

Bush, Professor George 

Brock, Mourant 

Belfast News Letter 

Beecher, Henry Ward 

Booth. B. F 



578 
594 
615 
669 
617 

58 



Cowles, H., D. D 

Clarke, Adam 85, 98, 120 

136, 145, 253, 278, 280, 341, 355,409, 703, 708 

Cottage Bible 120, 392 

Croly, Geo 143, 259, 261, 526, 661 

Carleton 283 



Page. 

Cassiodorius, Aurelius.. 204 

Current Literature 240 

Chaumette , 270 

Christian Union 291, 565 

Churchman 285 

Chronicle, San Francisco 286, 287 

Comprehensive Commentary 360 

Comprehensive Bible 340 

Church Advocate 547, 617 

Campbell, Alexander 558 

Catechism, Christian Religion 555 

Catechism, Doctrinal 556 

Champlairi Journal 566 

Cuyler 568 

Chambers's Encyclopedia 480 

Christian Statesman 569, 571 

Chester (Eng.) Chronicle 570 

Christian Weekly 570 

Christian Palladium 613 

Congregationalist, The * 614 

Chicago Tribune 615 

Catholic Christian Instructed . ^ 556 

Cyprian 721 

Davidson 119 

DAubigne 127,134 

Dowling 138, 140 

Du Pin 256 

Domestic Bible 340 

Doddridge 395 

D wight, President 419 

Devens, R. M 420. 421, 424 

Dublin Nation 535 

De Tocqueville 529 

Du Pui, James 710 

Elliott. : 134, 135, 198, 465, 483 

Evagrius 135 

Elizabeth, Charlotte 138 

Encyclopedia Americana 

241, 243, 249, 278, 415 

Evening News, Detroit 288 

Ecclesiastical Commentaries 404 

Exposition of Seven Trumpets of 
Revelation 8, 9 45:) 

[745] 



746 



INDEX OF AUTHORS. 



Everett, Edward 535 

Edmonds, Judge 545 

Eastburn 568 

Experience and Views 718 

Fox 138 

Finney, Professor 613 

Faber '. 63 

Gibbon 56 

129, 130, 134, 135, 257. 458, 459, 462, 481, 482 

Gese'nius 119,141 

Gavin, Anthony 138 

Geddes 139 

Griesbach 341 

Gill 346 

388 
419 
617 
665 



Greenfield 

Gage, History of Eowley, Mass 

Golden Censer 

Golden Rule 



Henry, Matthew 91, 346 

Hengstenberg 193, 212 

Harmony of Prophetic Chronology.. 195 

Hales, Dr 195, 202, 204, 207 

Historic Echoes of the Voice of God 280 

Hugo, Victor 309 

Here and Hereafter 331, 633 

Horne 340 

History of the Waldenses 359 

Herschel 419 

Havens 548 

Huntington, Bishop 568 

Hudson 695 

Independent, N. Y 291, 570, 618 

Johnson's Cyclopedia 44 

Josephus 153. 245 

Janesville (Wis.) Gazette , 566 

Jenks : .... 688 

Kitto 253, 349 

Kossuth, Louis 286 

Kurtz 350 

Keith 455, 456, 463, 469 

Keenan, Stephen 555 

Kenedy, J. P 556 

Kerfoot, Bishop 568 

Lloyd 63 

Lewis, Professor 568 

Limborch — 139 

Lockhart 273 

Lyell, Sir Charles 416 

Life of Edward Lee 419 

Litch, Josiah 479 

Lockhart, W., B. A 556 

Lansing State Republican 567 

Mercerus 192 

Montanus 192 



Mosheim 128, 131, 135, 404, 405 

Mede 128, 265 

Machiavelli 131 

Madden, R. R 280 

Martyn 536 

Miller, William 355, 359, 407 

Mine Explored 340 

Missionary Review 503 

Methodists (Wesley an) 665 

Macmillan & Co 530 

McMillan, W. H 573 

Mcllvaine 568 

Newton, William 6S 

Nelson, David 73 

Newton, Sir Isaac 128 

Newton, Bishop 128, 147, 148 

222, 227, 231, 235, 242, 246, 292, 346, 550 

New York Tribune 283, 284 

Nevins 340 

New York Observer 616 

Oswald 136, 138 

Olmstead, Professor 425 

Olshausen 340 



Porphyry 

Prideaux 

25, 149, 152, 153, 201, 214, 223, 
Philadelphia Public Ledger . . . 

Paragraph Bible 

Portsmouth Journal 

Pownal, Governor 

Patterson, Dr 

Present Truth, The 

Philadelphia Sun 

Porter, Commodore 

Pentecost, G. F 

Pollok 



1, 245. 



23 

250 
289 
340 
419 
529 
568 
577 
613 
654 
666 
723 

Rollin 117, 231, 237 

Ranke 130 

Religious Encyclopedia 153 

Rapin 256 

Rice, Dr 404 

Reformation, The 580 

Religious Telescope 613 



12S. 



Stanley 

Scott, Church History 

Scott's Napoleon 265, 267, 268, 

Scott 346, 392, 

Stockius 

Signs of the Times 

Sanctuary and Its Cleansing 

Stonard, Dr 

Smith, Key to Revelation 

Scientific American 

Scholefield 389 

Sears, Wonders of the World 414, 420 



130 
137 
269 
396 
192 
195 
198 
214 



306, 308 



INDEX OF AUTHORS. 



747 



Sears, Guide to Knowledge 420 

Sabine, Ecclesiastical History 458 

Storrs, George 505 

Smith, Philip 511 

Statesman's Year Book, 1867 530 

Spiritualism a Subject of Prophecy. 544 

Smart, Kev. J. S 563 

Stevenson, Dr 564 

Simpson 568 

Seelye 568 

State Republican, Lansing, 567 

Saint-Hilaire, M. Barthelemy 570 

Stuart, Professor 652, 695, 712 

Scott, O 665 

Syriac New Testament 651 

Sawyer, New Testament 652 

Thiers 274 

Thompson 327, 330, 348, 378 

Tenney 422 

Townsend, G. A 529, 535, 565 

Tuttle, Hudson 546 

Treatise of Thirty Controversies ... 555 



Taylor, D. T 594 

Tennessee Baptist 664 

True Wesleyan 665 

United States Magazine 537 

Vulgate, The 120 

White 274 

Wintle 265 

Watson... 355, 359 

Wesley 358, 387, 389, 391, 393, 531, 652 

Woodhouse 395 

Whittier 420 

Ward, Henry Dana 424 

Webster, Noah 429, 554 

Who Changed the Sabbath ? 557 

Weekly Alta Californian 566 

Wolff, Dr. Joseph 594 

Whiting, Prof., New Testament. 603, 632 

Watchman and Reflector 617 

Wakefield, New Testament 651 

White, Mrs. E. G 514, 516, 674 

Wicks 710 



i.N OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE SUPPORTING THE EXPO- 
SITION OF DANIEL AND THE REVELATION 
SET FORTH IN THIS WORK. 



GENESIS. 

Page. 

1:2.. 690 

2 : i, 2 555, 629 

2:1-3 630 

2:7 412, 644 

3 :24 350 

4 : 9, 10 411, 412 

10 : 30, 8-10, 11 24, 43, 44 

17:11 437 

48 : 5 , 447 

49 : 9, 10, 394 

EXODUS. 

5:2 501 

7:17-21,25 645 

9:8-11 644 

9:23 653 

10 : 21-23 646 

15 : 17 161, 162, 163 

19 : 4 517 

20 . 8-11 630 

25 : 8, 9; 26 : 30; 27 : 8 167, 169, 367 

25:9,40 ...351 

25 : 31, 32, 37; 26 : 35; 27 : 20 388 

25 : 16; 31 : 18 508 

28 : 41, 43 368 

30 : 22-30 212 

.31 : 13 440 

40 : 9, 10 194 

LEVITICUS. 

1:1-4; 4:3-6; 16 : 5-10, 15, 16, 20-22. ... 689 

8:10-15 212 

16 : 17, 20, 30, 33 175, 368 

.16 : 8 888 

16:23 167 

17 : 11, 14 1-74 

NUMBERS. 

13 : 11 448 

14:34 141, 207 

22-25; 31 : 13-16 356 

19:13 412 

[748] 



deuteronomy. 

Page. 

10 : 2, 5 508 

12 : 5, 11, 21; 14 : 23, 24; 16 : 6 442 

12 : 5, 14, 18, 21; 14 : 23; 16 : 2, 6. 584 

28:49, 50 181 

29 :29 ...324 

I KINGS. 

1 : 5-9, 19, 25 709 

18; 19; 21 359 

21 : 8; 8:8 438 

II KINGS. 

19 : 15 441 

20:14-18 26 

II CHRONICLES. 

2:12... 441 

20 : 7, 8 162 

EZRA. 

1:1 23 

1 : 1-4; 6 : 1-12; 7 197 

6:4; 4:6, 7 53, 206 

7:9 208 

NEHEMIAH. 

2: 2:16; 6:15 197, 199 

9:6 441 

ESTHER. 

1:1 107,147, 152 

3:12 438 

JOB. 

9:8 411 

23 : 3 373 

38:7 699 

38:22,23 654 

PSALMS. 

1:5 317 

2:7-9 *. 511 

2 : 8, 9 74, 331, 362 

36 : 8.... 451 

37:11... 398 

37 : 20 401 

69 : 4 578 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



78:53,54,69 162 

78:68 163 

85:10? 209 

91 : 2-10 581, 656 

96 : 5 441 

110:1 382 

112:8. 31 

114:1-8..... 164, 682 

115 : 4-7,15; 96 : 5; 121 : 2; 124 : 8; 134 : 3; 

146 : 6 441 

119:126... 577 

126:1,2 48 

146 : 4 544 

149 : 9 362 

ECCLESIASTES. 

9 : 5, 6, 10 544 

PROVERBS. 

11 : 8 : Ill 

11 :31 , 695 

ISAIAH. 

3 : 10, 11 640 

8:7 648 

8 :16 438 

9:6 708 

11 : 1, 10. 394 

11 : 4 686 

13 : 19 -22 ! 51 

31 : 2 146 

23:1........ 253 

24:1 691 

24:19, 20 .....433 

25:8 451 

28:17; 30:30 654 

29:10-14 720 

30 : 33 697 

30:26; 68 : 23 715 

32:18,19 , 656 

33:14 698 

33:14, 15; 66 : 24 694 

33:16 451 

34:8 675 

37 : 16; 42 : 5; 44 : 24; 45 : 12; 51 : 13 441 

39:1 44 

51:7 706 

54:1-17 684 

55:1 374 

56:1,2 631 

60:13 161 

63:1-4 684 

63:18; 64:11 163 

64:6.. '376 

65:17-25 398 

66 : 22, 23 631 

66 : 24 698 

JEREMIAH. 

2; 3; 31 : 32 607 

4 : 23-27 433 



4 : 19-26 693 

10:10-12; 32:17; 51:15 441 

10:11 440 

15 : 16-18 496 

17:24-27 26 

25:8-11 22, 25 

25 : 12; 29 : 10 183 

25:30... 653 

25:30-33 114,432, 436 

30 : 4-7........% 450 

49:39 146 

50:25...... 643 

51 : 9 666 

51 : 25 603 

EZEKIEE. 

1 :14 .; 189 

4:6 141, 207 

9:4 437 

12:13 25 

14:19,20; 28:3... 21 

20 : 12, 20 440 

21:25-27, 31 180, 311 

23 : 2-4 509 

24:13 578 

45 : 18 .368 

JOEL. 

1:14-20 647 

1:18-20 : 451 

2:32 297 

2 : 30,31 596 

3 : 16 300, 432, 583, 634, 653 

AMOS. 

9:3 578 

OBADIAH. 

16 : 401 

HABAKKUK. 

2 : 11 411 

ZECHARIAH. 

3 : 3-5 365, 376 

4:3-6 499 

6 : 12, 13 209, 381, 703 

9 : 10 704 

MALiACHI. 

4:1 400, 500, 705 

MATTHEW. 

3:12 ..401 

5:5 39S 

5:8 719 

5 : 17-20 630 

5:18 ' 31 

10 : 15; 11 : 21-21 588 

10 : 28 354 

10 : 32,33 365 

11 : 15; 13 : 9, 43 349 

12:8 344 

13:16 315 



750 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



18:17 556 

18 : 20 37 

19:28 120 

22:1-14; 26:29 599, 683, 708 

23 : 34, 35 645 

24 : 12 541 

24:13 .361 

24 : 14 316, 592 

24 : 15, 16 21, 314 

24 : 21 i-- 296, 359 

24 : 21, 22, 29 425 

24 :22 360, 500, 518 

24 : 24 581 

24 : 27, 31 333 

24:29-31 596 

25:1-13 ' 708 

25 : 21, 23 715 

25 : 31-34 71, 453 

25 : 34 126, 507 

25 : 41, 46 697, 701 

26:29 71 

27 : 52, 53 301, 387 

MARK. 

1 : 14, 15 202 

8 : 38 365 

9 : 43-48 698 

13 : 24 428 

13 : 24-26 596 

13:29 431 

14:25 683 

LUKE. 

1 : 11, 26 179 

1:32,33 295, 367, 394 

2:1 240, 512 

2 : 25, 26, 28 510 

3:1-3 243 

3 : 21,22 201 

3 : 23 202 

10:16 556 

10 : 23, 24 315 

12:8, 9 365 

12:32 71 

12:35-37; 19 : 12, 13 708 

12:37 683 

14:16-24, 12-15 683 

14:14 353 

16:19-31 410 

17 :17 38 

17 : 26-30; 18 : 8 541, 616 

18 : 7, 8 635 

19:10-12 123 

19:12 297, 599 

19:13 361 

21 :24 : 311 

21:25 427 

21:25-36 596 

22:18, 30 683 



JOHN. 

1:1, 3; 5 : 26 401 

2:13; 5:1; 6:4; 13:1 f. . 203 

5 : 28 219, 294, 325 

5 : 28,29 531 

5 : 44 , 578 

14 : 2, 3 590 

14 : 3 353 

14:26; 16 : 13 377 

19 : 30 493 

ACTS. 

1:6; 14:22 71 

1:9,11 333 

3:15; 5:31 153, 294 

3 : 19 365 

4:24; 14:15; 17 : 23,24 441 

6:5 349 

7:26 578 

7 : 44 169, 367 

7 : 56 384 

9:1-7 235 

10:38 376 

14:22 336 

15:1-35 347 

15:14 : 494 

16:26; 27 : 24 38 

17:29 l 551 

17 :31; 24 : 25 588 

20:7 555 

20:17-38 : 328 

26:23 333 

ROMANS. 

2:4 578 

2:6-10 700 

2:16 588 

2 : 28, 29; 9 : 6-8; 11 : 17-24 352, 447, 709 

3:31 631 

4:11 437 

4:13,14 375,398, 706 

4:17 331 

6:16 626 

8:24,25 376 

8 : 29 330, 331 

9:6,7 352 

10:7 690 

I CORINTHIANS. 

6:2 506, 637 

6:2, 3 126, 362 

8:5 439 

9:27 365 

10 : 33 578 

13 :13.. 376 

15:20 331 

15:20,23 330 

15:24 295 

15:24-28 381 

15:50 71 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



751 



15:51-54 353 

15 : 52 493, 631 

16 : 2 555 

II CORINTHIANS. 

3 : 14 693 

5 : 10 210, 588 

8:13,14 711 

11 : 2 607 

11:13 347 

12:2 350, 703 

GALATIANS. 

1:8 590 

1 : 11, 12 494 

3 : 28, 29 352, 375, 398, 705, 709 

4:21-31..... 683 

4 : 26..... 350, 708 

5:4 578 

5:6 376 

EPHESIANS. 

1 : 9, 10 493 

1:20, 21 333, 511 

1 : 20-22 295, 381 

1 : 23 693 

2:8 ' .> 375 

2:12,13...-. ,709 

2:15 631 

3 :3, 6 494 

4:8 301, 386 

5:23 682 

6:19 494 

PHILIPPIANS. 

2:9 401 

3 :11 583 

COLOSSI ANS. 

1:15-18 330 

4:3 494 

I THESSALONIANS. 

4:16 219, 294,325,333, 531 

4 : 16, 17 353 

5:4 364 

II THESSALONIANS. 

1:6-10 335 

1:7,8 295, 720 

2:1-3 490 

2:3 355 

2:8 121. 526, 590, 686 

2 : 8-12 581 

2:15 556 

I TIMOTHY. 

6:18 376 

II TIMOTHY. 

2:12 336 

3 596 

3 : 1-5, 12 541 

3:4,5 616 

4 : 1, 8, 20 71, 328. 352, 598 



HEBREWS. 

1 : 2, 6, 14 330, 401, 586 

2:14 400 

4:1 555 

6 ; 7 ; 8 ; 9 212 

7:23-25 177 

7:27; 8:4,5; 9 : 6, 7, 12; 13 : 11 368 

8:1, 2; 9 : 23,24 160, 3H1 

8:1 511 

8 : 2 367, 689 

.8:4, 5 169 

8:12 365 

9 : 1...: 165, 168 

9 : 1-5, 8, 12, 21, 23, 24 307 

9:2-5 166 

9 : 8, 9, 23, 24 170 

9:12 175 

9 : 22, 23 173 

10:19 367 

10:25 369 

10 : 36 633 

11 : 1 376 

11:6 375 

11 :33 107 

12 : 8 379 

12:22 398 

12:23 447 

12 : 25-27 432 

12:26 634, 653 

12:26-28 583 

13:22 90 

JAMES. 

1:1, 18, 27 364, 585, 709 

2:5 71 

2 : 11, 12. . 588, 631 

5 : 4, 7, 8 411, 633 

I PETER. 

1 : 1, 5 328, 631 

2 : 9 332, 336 

3:21 576 

5:4 353 

II PETER. 

1 :19 362, 365 

2 : 4, 9, 14 237, 515, 588 

3:3,4 541 

3 : 7 507, 702 

3:7,10 695 

3 : 7-13 400, 698 

3 : 13 398 

I JOHN. 

2 : 20, 27 376 

3:15 645 

JUDE. 

6 588 

9 531 

14,15 598 

24 390 



GENERAL INDEX M 



ALEXANDER, the Great, first king 
of the Grecian Empire, 54; his 
generous treatment of the royal 
Persian captives, 55 ; his self-con- 
ceit, 55 ; his debaucheries and 
death, 56; celerity of his move- 
ments, 148 ; his pompous claim, 
149 , how his kingdom was divided 
into four parts, 150 ; fulfils Dan. 
11 : 3, 4, 223 ; his posterity extinct 
in 15 years, id.; names of the four 
generals who divided his king- 
dom, 224 ; their territory, id. 

Anointing the most holy, what, 212. 

Antiochus Magnus fulfils Dan. 
11 : 13, 230. 

Actium, battle of, 248. 

Antony, death of, 249. 

Abomination that maketh desolate 
set up, 259. 

A new power introduced, 264. 

Assistance rendered Turkey, 282. 

Armenian atrocities. 291. 

Angel, Christ's, who, 325. 

Angel of the church, who, 347. 

Antipas, who, 355. 

A clean universe, 399. 

Alaric invades Rome, 456. 

Attila, the Hun, ranks with Alaric 
and Genseric, in the destruction 
of the Roman Empire, 460, 461. 

Abubeker, his singular commands 
to his army, 474. 

Anger of the nations, when, 506. 

American statistics, 537. 

A. Campbell describes sects, 558. 

Ark of testament in heaven, 623. 

Armageddon, battle of, 651. 

Angels not disembodied souls, 683. 

Azazel, name of the Devil, 688. 

A thousand years in heaven, 696. 

Adding to, or taking from, 725. 

BABYLONISH Empire, the head 
of gold, 43; when founded, id.; its 
extent, 44; how universal, 45. 

Bible names, significance of, 28. 

[752] 



Babylon, city, description of; strata- 
gem of Cyrus by which it was 
taken. 49; its final ruin, 51. 

Belshazzar, son of Nabonadius, joint 
ruler with his father, 48; his im- 
pious feast, 94; chosen by Cyrus 
as the time to capture Babylon, 
94; its conclusion, 98: poetical de- 
scription of, by Sir Edwin Arnold, 
99-105. 

Bear, a symbol of Medo Persia, 116. 
Beast, great and terrible, symbol of 

Rome, 118. 
Berenice married by Antiochus, 226; 

murdered by Laodice, 
Bonaparte dreams of glory, 274; 

Egyptian expedition, 275; his 

views of Russia, 286. 
Blessing, the, at end of 1335 days, 

what, 315. 
Balaam, his doctrine, what, 356. 
Book of life, 365. 
Beasts, four, who, 388. 
Books, ancient, style of, 391. 
Bottomless pit, meaning of, 472, 

690. 

Beast of Rev. 13 : 1, and little horn 
of Dan. 7:25, identical, 524. 

Beast, image to, what, 546; mark of, 
what, 550. 

Babylon, symbolical, what, 600. 

Bride, the Lamb's wife, who, 682, 
706. 

Benediction on commandment keep- 
ers, 721. 
Binding of Satan, what, 691. 

CYAXERES, the Mede, called in 
Dan. 5 : 31 "Darius," 48. 

Cyrus, son of Cambyses, king of 
Persia, nephew of Cyaxeres, or 
Darius, king of the Medes, 53; 
conquered Babylon, b. c 538, 53; 
takes the throne on the death of 
Darius, 106; his decree for the 
return of the Jews, 5&; length of 
his reign, 53; his successors, 53. 



GENERAL INDEX 



753 



Chronology of the kingdom of God, 
69-72. 

Changing times and laws, what, 
140. 

Christian era, 202, note. 

Commandment of Cyrus, Darius, 
and Artaxerxes one decree, 206. 

Caesar, Julius, assumes control of 
Egypt, 236; is captivated by Cleo- 
patra, 237; fulfils Dan. 11 : 18, 19, 
238. 

Caesar, Augustus, a raiser of taxes, 

fulfils Dan. 11 : 20, 239. 
Caesar, Tiberius, fulfils Dan. 11 ; 

21, 22, 240. 
Chittim, what country, 253. 
Christ's present reign, 295; change 

of position, id. 
Conscious state of the dead not 

proved by Dan. 12 : 2, 301. 
Churches, the seven, cover the 

whole gospel age, 327-329. 
Coming of Christ visible, 333. 
Candlesticks, meaning of, 342. 
Confession and denial of Christ, 366. 
Cold and hot, signification of, 372. 
Chastisement, a token of love, 378. 
Consulship of Rome extinguished 

by Justinian, 465. 
Chosroes, king of Persia, 470. 
Constantine XIII, last emperor of 

the East, 481. 
Constantinople, siege and overthrow 

of, 481. 

Character of U. S. government, 538, 
539. 

Catholic catechisms, testimony of, 
555-557. 

Church and state in America, 563- 
574. 

Christian Endeavor, aims of, 573. 
Chronology of third message, 621. 
Convulsions of nature, 677. 
Closing thoughts, 726. 

DANIEL and Revelation counter- 
parts of each other, 3. 

Daniel's prophecy to be understood, 
5; Daniel and Ezekiel, 21, 22; 
Daniel's place in prophecy, 22 : 
source of his fame, id.; nature of 
his prophecy, 23 ; his integrity, 
29 ; his exaltation, 76 ; his won- 
derful prayer, 184 ; his age and 
decease, 23. 

Date of the captivity, 32. 

Daily, Dan. 8 : 11-13, what, 157. 



Darius Codomannus, the last king 
of Persia before Grecia, 53 ; over- 
thrown at Arbela, 331 b. c, 54 ; 
his sad end, 55. 

Dura, the site of Nebuchadnezzar's 
rival image, 78 ; dedication of the 
image, 79; integrity of the three 
worthies, 81 ; Nebuchadnezzar's 
rage, id.; their deliverance, 82 ; 
Nebuchadnezzar's conversion, 83. 

Daniel in the lions' den, 106-112; 
recognized by Paul as a true rec- 
ord, 107. 

Days, the 2300, why not explained 
in Daniel 8,. 182 ; explained in 
chapter 9, 187-190 ; reach to 
cleansing of heavenly sanctuary, 
178; termination of, 267. 

Dates of Christ's baptism and cru- 
cifixion, 244. 

Dan. 8: 11 ; 11 : 31, and Rev. 13 : 2, 
parallel, 255. 

Daily taken away, how, 255. 

Decree of Justinian, 259, 260. 

Days, the 1290, 313 ; the 1335, 314. 

Distinction between Christ and 
God, 330. 

Door opened in heaven, 384. 

Dragon, symbol, in one form, of 
Satan; in another, of Rome, 514. 

De Tocqueville's testimony, 529. 

Dimensions of the holy city, 709. 

Enoch contemporary with Adam, 
3. 

Ezra receives decree to restore Je- 
rusalem, 198. 

Era, Christian, 202, note. 

Events of the year 508 a. d., 258. 

Exploits of saints, 263, 

Eastern question, what, 283. 

Ephesus, meaning of, 347. 

Eye-salve, meaning of, 376. 

Elders, four and twenty, who, 386. 

Earthquake, the great, at Lisbon, 
414-418. 

Euphrates, symbolic, what, 647. 
Eminent reformers, 741. 

FAMOUS marches of Alexander. 
117. 

Four beasts, Daniel's vision of, 113. 

Four heads of leopard, what, 117: 
arose when, id. 

France an atheistical power, 265; 
fulfils Dan. 11 : 36-40, 264-273: 
fulfils Rev. 11 : 7-13, 500-504. 



4S 



754 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Franco-Prussian war, bearing on 

prophecy, 284. 
Five months of Rev. 9 : 10, where 

located, 478. 
Firearms prophesied of, 482, note. 
First settlements in America, 536. 
Forever and ever, meaning of, 632. 

GOD'S people preserve the world. 
38. 

Grecia, the brass of the great im- 
age, 54; the leopard of Dan. 7 : 6. 
116; the goat of Dan. 8 : 5. 147; 
comes into prophecy b. c. 331, at 
battle of Arbela, 148; continues 
till league of Jews with the Ro- 
mans, b. c. 161, seventy years, 153. 

Gabriel, a prominent angel, 179; his 
glory, id. 

Genseric, the Vandal, 253. 

Glories of the stellar worlds. 303, 
304. 

God of forces, 271, note. 
Gold tried in the fire, explained, 
375. 

Glass, sea of, what, 388. 

Genseric, naval warfare of, 458, 459; 
efforts of emperors Majorian and 
Leo against him fail, 459, 460. 

Gov. Pownall's testimony. 529. 

Geo. Alfred Townsend's testimony, 
529. 

Great wonders originating in the 

U. S., 542, 543. 
Gluttony rebuked, 676, 

Horn with eyes and mouth, a 
symbol of the papacv, 119. 124- 
127. 

Horns, the three, plucked up before 

little horn, 128-136. 
He-goat, as a svmbol. explained. 

147. 

Horn, notable, of the goat, ex- 
plained. 148. 

Horns, four, of the goat, what, 150. 

Horn, little", of Daniel 8, not a sym- 
bol of Antiochus Epiphanes, 151: 
but a symbol of Rome, 153: how 
it came forth from one of the four 
horns of the goat, 153: accurately 
fulfilled by.Rome, 154-156; further 
explained, 181. 

Hvpocrisy of Antony and Caesar, 
181. 

How long to the end, 310. 311. 
Heraclius's bold enterprise, 471. 



Hailstorm, the final, 655. 
Heads, the seven, explained, 659. 
Heaven and earth flee awav, how, 
698. 

Interpretation, two systems 

of. 4; Origen's mystical system, id. 

Image, great world-kingdom, of Dan, 
2:31, 41 ; adapted to Nebuchad- 
nezzar's position, 42. 

Indignation, what, 179. 

Interpolation in Rev. 1 : 11. 341. 

Injustice in Switzerland, 577. 

JERUSALEM'S overthrow pre- 
dicted, 25; three times taken by 
Babylon, id. 

Judgment, investigative, 120. 

Justinian, papal decree, when es- 
tablished, 262. 

John, why banished, 337. 

Jews, who are, 352. 

Jezebel, who, 359. 

John Palaeologus, death of, 480. 

Judgment before second advent. 
598. 

KEEPING the commandments. 

what. 631. 
Key to movements in heaven. 296. 
Knowledge, increase of, 306-309. 
Kino-dom of Rev. 1 : 9, meaning of. 

336. 

Key of David, what, 367. 
Kitchens in churches, 616. 

LaODICE put away by Antiochus. 
recalled, poisons him, and seats 
her son on the throne, 226. 

Last war against Babjdon, 48. 

Legs of image do not signify eastern 
and western Rome, 64. 

Lion, a symbol of Babylon, 115. 

Leopard, a symbol of Grecia, 116. 

Life of fourth beast not prolonged 
like that of the others, 121. 

Leas'ue between Jews and Romans. 
234, 244. 

Lot, meaning of, 317. 

Land divided for gain, 272. 

Lord's day, meaning of, 338, 344. 

Laodicea, meaning of, 371. 

Lamps of fire, the seven, what, 388. 

Location of government symbol- 
ized by two-horned beast, 531. 

Last church not to perish, 577. 5 78. 



GENERAL INDEX. 



755 



Lake of fire repeated, 697. 
Life, book of, 701. 

Magicians, etc., who, 33 ; their 
cunning, id.; issue of the struggle 
between them and Nebuchad- 
nezzar, 34, 35 ; God's providence 
manifest in their overthrow, 36. 

Medo-Persia, the breast and arms 
of the great image, 52 ; how in- 
ferior to the head, id.; chief 
Scriptural event in its history, 53 ; 
overthrew Babj'lon, b. c. 538, and 
continued 207 }^ears, 116. 

Mart}TS by the papacv,- estimated, 
137-140. 

Michael, who, 219, 294. 

Mithridates assists Cassar in Egvpt, 
237, 

Morning Star, the, who, 362. 

Moon darkened, 422. 

Momyllus, nicknamed Augustulus, 

last emperor of Rome, 463. 
Mohammedanism, rise of, 470. 
Mystery of God, what, 493. 
Mark of beast, what, 559 ; who 

have it ? 560, 561. 
Mistake of Adventists in 1844, 598- 

NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S wise 
policy, 27; commendable char- 
acter, 40 ; his humiliation and 
final decree, 85-93. 

Nabonadius, the last king of Babv- 
lon, 48. 

Nehemiah's grant not a decree, 199. 
North, king of, who, 224, 273. 
Nicolaitanes, who, 349. 
Name, new, unknown, 358. 
Nineveh, battle of, 471. 
National Reform movement, its- 
aims, 571. 
"Number of his name," what, 580. 

Once in grace, always in grace," 

disproved, 365. 
Opening and shutting, meaning of, 

367. 

Odoacer governs Italy, 466. 
Ottoman supremacy, fall of, 485. 
Our deeds all recorded, 699. 
Overturning of kingdom three 
times, 180. 

PRAYER often heard before ans- 
wers appear, 218. 
Prophecy, importance of, 4. 



Ptolemy, king of Egypt, fulfils Dan. 

11 : 5, 225. 
Ptolemy Philadelphus fulfils Dan. 

11 :6, 225. 
Ptolemy Euergetes fulfils Dan. 11 : 

7-9, 226. 

Ptolemy Philopater fulfils Dan. 11 : 
11, 12, 228. 

Ptolemy Epiphanes supported bv 
Rome, 233. 

Pompey takes Jerusalem, 234; quar- 
rels with Caesar, 236; flees to Egypt 
and is murdered, id. 

Ptolemy and Cleopatra placed un- 
der guardianship of Rome, 235. 

Prince of the covenant, who, 243. 

Peter the Great, will of, 285. 

Present situation in Turkey, 292, 
note. 

Patmos, view of, 336. 

Paradise withdrawn from the earth, 
350; where, id. 

Pergamos, meaning of, 354. 

Philadelphia, signification of, 366. 

Paraphrase of 1 Cor. 15 : 24-28, 382. 

Prophetic time, close of, 492. 

Persecuting powers, professedlv 
Christian, 520. 

Pope Pius VI, death of, 526. 

Political changes in the world be- 
tween 1817 and 1867, 530. 

Proclamation of Christ's coming. 
585; not given by the apostles or 
the Reformers, 588; belongs to the 
present generation, 590; its ex- 
tent, 594-596. 

Protestant church not true to its 
profession, 605. 

Plagues, seven last, poured out, 641. 

Perdition of ungodly men, when, 
694; they never tread the new 
earth, 695. 

Punishment, degrees of, 699. 

Prominent martvrs, 738. 

ROME, the legs of iron, 56; the ter- 
rible beast, 118; the horn of Dan. 
8, 153; the great red dragon, 509; 
the leopard beast, 521; the scarlet 
beast, 659; succeeds Grecia, 56 ; 
Gibbon's testimonv, id. ; interferes 
in behalf of Egypt, 235; fulfils 
Dan. 11 : 14-35, 230: its divided 
state to continue to the end, 66; a 
false application, 58-62; growth 
of, by legacies, 246. 

Ram, as a symbol, explained, 146. 



756 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Robbers of God's people, Romans, 
Dan. 11 :14, 231. 

Reformation, the great, 263; proph- 
ecy of, 518. 

Russia's defiance, 284; encroach- 
ments, 286. 

Resurrection, a special, 298-301. 

Reward of the righteous, 302. 

Revelation, meaning of, 321; wrong 
title given to, 323; date of, 337; 
object of, 324; dedicated to whom, 
327; to be understood, 326. 

Reading of Rev. 1 : 8, 335. 

Revelation 12, symbols explained, 
509. 

Religious declension of present day, 
612-618. 

Sacred writings, characteristics 
of, 24. 

Successors of Nebuchadnezzar on 
throne of Babylon, 45, 48 

" Seven times," of Dan. 4 : 16, literal 
not prophetic ; " seven times " of 
Leviticus 26, not a prophetic 
period, Appendix II, 736. 

Startling events in papal history, 
144, note. 

Sanctuary, the, not the earth, 160; 
not the land of Canaan, 161; not 
the church, 164; it is, first, the 
tabernacle of Moses, expanded 
later into the temple at Jerusa- 
lem, 165; secondly, the sanctuary 
in heaven, 169; how cleansed, 
172-176; importance of the sub- 
ject, 177, 211; in heaven, size and 
magnificence of, 398. 

Stand up, meaning of, 222. 

South, king of the, who, 224, 273. 

Seleucus, King of Syria, fulfils 
Dan. 11 : 5, 225. 

Seleucus Callinicus plundered by 
Ptolemy, 227; died in exile, 228. 

Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus 
Magnus fulfil Dan. 11 : 10, 228. 

Scopas defeated by Antiochus, 233. 

Syria made a Roman province, 234. 

Siege of Jerusalem by Titus, 251, 
252; fulfilled Deut. 28 : 53, id. 

Shrinkage of Turkish territory, 289. 

Seven Spirits, who, 330. 

Spirit, to be in the, meaning of 
the expression, 338. 

Sabbath exists in this dispensation 
as Lord's day, 341. 

Smyrna, meaning of, 354. 



Sardis, meaning of, 363. 

Seals, the seven, explained, 402-434. 

Souls under the altar, who and 
where, 410. 

Sun darkened, 418-421. 

Stars, falling of, 422-426. 

Signs in sun, moon, and stars, ob- 
jections answered, 427-432. 

Seal of God, what, 437-442. 

Silence in heaven, why, 452. 

Saracens and Turks, 469. 

Spiritualism, its place in prophecy, 
544. 

Sabbath, by whom changed, 558. 

Seventh-daj' Adventists, papers and 
books, 625; conferences and mis- 
sions, id.; how this work is fulfil- 
ling the third message, 628. 

Summary of Sabbath arguments, 
629. 

Smoke going up forever, 681. 
Saints reign with Christ, 692. 

The word " king " used for " king- 
dom," 52. 

Toes of the image same as horns of 
the beast, 63. 

Ten horns represent the ten king- 
doms which arose out of the old 
Roman empire, 63. 

The ten kingdoms still in existence 
in modern Empires, 73. 

The ten kingdoms, enumeration of, 
118, and Appendix III, 737. 

Thrones cast down, should be rend- 
ered " set up," 119. 

Third part, refers to divisions of 
Rome, 457, 458. 

Titles assumed by the popes, 136. 

Time, times, and a half, 141. 

The Judgment set, when, 143. 

Testimony of Adventists, 195. 

Time in Dan. 11 : 24, how reckoned, 
246. 

Triumvirate, who, 247. 

Two returnings, Dan. 11 : 28, what, 

and when, 250. 
Tripartite division of Rome, 252. 
Time of papal oppression, 263. 
Time of the end, when, 264. 
Turkey declares war against 

France, 275; fulfils Dan. 11 : 40- 

44; 276-280. 
Turkey's future, 281-292. 
Turko-Russian war, 288. 
Time of Dan. 12:1, 293. 
Titles of Christ, 330, 331. 



R 181950 



GENERAL INDEX. 



757 



They which pierced him, who, 333; 
how these who died so long ago, 
see Christ at his second advent, 
334. 

Thyatira, meaning of, 359. 
Two thrones occupied by Christ, 
381. 

Twelve tribes of Israel under the 

gospel, who, 446. 
The 144,000, who, 447, 584; include 

all who die under third message, 

634, note. 
Trumpets, the seven, exposition 

of, 455-487. 
Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, 464. 
The open book, 488. 
Two-horned beast symbol of 

America, 528. 
The coming crisis, 561. 
The Constitution violated, 574. 
The danger threatened, 576. 
Ten virgins, parable of, 593, 599 
The three messages cumulative, 619. 
The relative "which" in Rev. 

20 : 4, 693. 
Two general resurrections, 693. 
The sea no more, 703. 
Third heaven, what, 703. 
The Father's house, 704. 
Tree of life illustrated, 717. 
The general invitation, 722. 
The French Revolution and our 

own times, Appendix I, 729. 

UNTIL, singular use of the word, 
31, explains use in Matt. 5 : 18. 



Universal empire, meaning of, 45. 

Vision, wonderful channel of, 

221, 323. 
Vision of Daniel 10, date of, 213. 
Voice of the great words which the 

horn spake, 121 ; gives the beast 

to the burning flame, id. 
Veni, mdi, met, the occasion when 

written, 238. 

Winds and sea as symbols, ex- 
plained, 114. 

Weeks, the seventy, part of the 
2300 days, 192 ; when to begin, 
196 ; intermediate dates, 201-205 : 
their termination, 207 ; genuine- 
ness of the reading, 2300 days, 
207. 

War between France, Egypt, and 

Turkey, 273. 
White stone, custom of, 357. 
Word of Christ's patience, what, 

368, 

White raiment, meaning of, 376. 
Winds, holding of, fulfilled, 444. 
Witnesses, the two, who, 497-505. 
War in heaven, when, 513. 
Wound, deadly, healed, 526. 
"We grew into empire," 535. 
Wine of Babylon, what, 608. 
Waters, symbolic meaning of, 662. 

Xerxes, his mighty army, 223. 
YEAR-DAY principle, 197, note. 



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